Scholes warns Manchester United jury still out on Lammens as title barrier

Paul Scholes has cast doubt on whether Senne Lammens is the elite-level goalkeeper Manchester United need to end their Premier League title drought, insisting the jury remains out on the Belgian despite his improvement on predecessor Andre Onana.

United have not won the league since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, and Scholes — a treble winner with the club in 1999 — believes the current rebuild under Michael Carrick is being carried out in deliberate phases. Having addressed the forward line last summer and the midfield this window, Scholes expects defensive reinforcement to follow next year, with the goalkeeper question central to that process.

“What team have you seen win the Premier League without a top-class goalkeeper?” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football. “Lammens might be that, I don’t know — I think the jury’s probably still out on that. Then you build from the back four.”

Scholes drew a direct line between title-winning teams and their shot-stoppers, citing Alisson at Liverpool, the succession of elite keepers at Manchester City, David Raya at Arsenal, and United’s own history with Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar as evidence that the position is non-negotiable at the top.

“You think of Liverpool’s team with Alisson, City’s teams, Raya at Arsenal — they’ve all got brilliant, brilliant goalkeepers,” he added. “You start from the back, of course you do.”

Carrick’s immediate task is to build on the third-placed finish United secured last season, which returned them to the Champions League. Scholes acknowledged that Arsenal and Manchester City are the more likely contenders for the title in the near term, but suggested United’s structured approach gives him confidence in the longer-term direction.

On the outfield side, Scholes noted that while the forward line looks encouraging, United may still require a genuine top-class centre-forward, expressing measured uncertainty over Benjamin Sesko despite signs of improvement from the striker.