‘He Has The Ability’ Former PL Star Lavishes Praise on United Star after Anfield Win

It’s rare to hear a Liverpool fan-favourite being so complimentary of a Manchester United star in public – but it happened in a recent interview with former Reds shot-stopper Simon Mignolet.

The former Sunderland man is a big fan of Red Devils ‘keeper Senne Lammens. He believes that the Belgian international will be a roaring success in the Premier League, citing his ‘build’ and stating that he ‘has the qualities to succeed in England’.

Mignolet had plenty of nice things to say about his fellow countryman – let’s take a look at how far his praise went for the 20 year old.

What did Simon Mignolet say about Senne Lammens?

Speaking with Voetbal Primeur, Mignolet said [via The Mirror]: “He has the build and the qualities to succeed in England. He’s big, explosive, and strong on high balls. He can save balls that other goalkeepers can’t.

“With his shot-stopping, he can score points for United. He’s steady in his head and handles pressure well. He has the ability to bounce back after a mistake and stay calm.”

Is Senne Lammens the solution to Man Utd’s goalkeeper problem?

Since the departure of David De Gea – and a few years before that – United have had some major issues between the sticks. Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir failed to fill the Spaniard’s shoes, but a solution to the issues may have arisen from the most unlikely of places.

No one expects Lammens to immediately begin putting in world class performances week in, week out – but what we have seen from him so far is very encouraging.

Goalies 25/26	Games	Wins	Saves	Goals Vs
Senne Lammens	3	3	11	3
Andre Onana	1	0	2	2
Altay Bayindir	6	2	13	11

He has played in 3 Premier League games thus far, conceding just 3 goals along the way. The 1st goal he let in was against Liverpool and there was little he could have done to prevent it – as such, it feels harsh to criticise him for it.

He gave up 2 vs a resurgent Brighton who came back from 3-0 down before Mbeumo added his 2nd and United’s 4th to seal a 4-2 win and a 3rd win in a row for Amorim.

United have had some of the greatest goalkeepers of all time over the course of their history. Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar and Harry Gregg are among the cream of the United crop – can Lammens go onto the match the achievements of these legendary shot-stoppers at Old Trafford?

Senne Lammens vs top goalkeepers in the Premier League

Lammens has some stern competition in the Premier League – he still has a way to go before he can match the likes of Alisson, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Guglielmo Vicario.

In his 3 Premier League games, he accumulated a very respectable save percentage of 73.3%. This is one of the highest save percentages in the league at the moment, but it is likely to drop as the season wears on.

As mentioned by Mignolet, Lammens’ large frame allows him to be more commanding when defending set-pieces. This is often a weakness of young goalkeepers, but Lammens actually excels in these scenarios.

To conclude, we believe that Lammens has all the tools to become one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League – but at just 20 years of age, he still has plenty of learning to do.