Senne Lammens has welcomed comparisons to Edwin van der Sar after the Dutchman shared his thoughts on Manchester United’s current No.1.
Benjamin Sesko’s goal sealed a 1-0 win for Manchester United over Everton on Monday night, while Senne Lammens posted another clean sheet.
Lammens had a quiet first half with the score at 0-0, but had to handle a constant aerial assault in the last 20 minutes as Everton pushed for an equaliser.
There was no way past Lammens and Sesko’s 71st-minute strike proved decisive as United took three points from their first-ever trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Lammens gives his take on comparisons to Edwin van der Sar
Lammens has been getting a lot of positive attention ever since he made his debut in the 2-0 win over Sunderland.
Despite starting the season behind Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir hasn’t given United any reason to bring him back into the lineup, leaving Lammens to make the position his own.
Bayindir is now being linked with a move to Besiktas in the summer, while Lammens’ strong run of form has sparked comparisons to Edwin van der Sar.
Van der Sar was a guest on Monday Night Football and took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Lammens’ performances so far this season.
The former United goalkeeper told Lammens: “With your age, in your first year in the Premier League, you’re really doing incredibly well.”
“And you have a good save, good hands, so compliments on your all-round game.”
Lammens has now had a chance to respond. Speaking during an appearance at Partington Central Academy for the Manchester United Foundation, he said (via ManUtd.com): “Edwin’s someone I’ve grown up looking towards and looking up to, so it’s always nice to hear from him, to hear positive words.”
“Any comparison with him or Peter Schmeichel is always nice to hear.”
“We are quite similar – he’s from the Netherlands and I’m from Belgium – it’s not far from each other, so we also know a little bit about character and background.”
“I think it’s quite similar, so it’s always nice to hear those nice words from him.”
Senne Lammens says Manuel Neuer was his main inspiration growing up
There are plenty of United connections for Lammens to draw from, including Van der Sar and Schmeichel. And as a Belgian, he’s naturally aware of Thibaut Courtois’ influence.
But when it comes to picking a role model, Lammens singled out Bayern Munich and Germany’s Manuel Neuer.
“My biggest idol was probably Manuel Neuer,” Lammens said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“I take pride in being an all-round goalkeeper. That’s why I was such a big fan of his. He didn’t really have something that was clearly not the best thing in his game.”
Lammens’ style does reflect some of Neuer’s qualities, especially his composure with the ball at his feet and strong distribution.
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