Gushing Rio Ferdinand raves about Senne Lammens after his standout Man United debut

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has waxed lyrical about Senne Lammens following his impressive debut in the win over Sunderland.

Lammens was the surprise selection when Ruben Amorim named his starting XI to take on Sunderland last Saturday.

The Belgian had been made to wait for his debut since joining the club from Royal Antwerp during the closing stages of the summer transfer window. Amorim stuck by Altay Bayindir, but a string of costly mistakes meant Lammens’ introduction was inevitable.

Lammens didn’t disappoint against Sunderland, producing an eye-catching display that has earned him rave reviews from supporters and the media.

Comfortable with the ball at his feet, Lammens also impressed with his ability to come out of his line and claim the ball, which helped relieve pressure on his defenders.

The 23-year-old made two stunning saves in either half to maintain the clean sheet.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast , Ferdinand explained why he was left in awe of Lammens.

“That must instil so much confidence in the back line, and then it spreads through the team. You’ve got to bear in mind that whether you support the goalkeepers that were there before or not, most games we were coming out of, and there was a question mark or something, an incident that happened in the game and was talked about on our show or loads of other different shows, right?”

“If they were talking about it on our show, imagine what they’re thinking inside the dressing room when they’re thinking about their goalkeeper.”

“So for a goalkeeper to come out, you know the feeling when a keeper, when a ball’s coming in the box and they’re a big team, aggressive, and the keeper comes out and claims it, that feeling of looking down at him on the floor when he’s getting back up and you go, you know what, that’s my keeper, man.”

He continued, “That’s my goalkeeper, do you know what I mean? I don’t think they’ve been able to say that for a while because there’s been so many different mistakes and whatnot that’s gone on in questionable decision-making.”

“But he just looked very, very, very secure. And he looked exactly like what Courtois said in that voice note in his first game for Manchester United .”

Ferdinand offered insight into Amorim’s reasoning for preferring Mason Mount to Matheus Cunha in his starting lineup.

“What is the benchmark of a Mason Mount performance? What’s the identity of a Mason Mount performance? What’s in his makeup consistently when you see him? Energy, pressing, [and] a work ethic.”

“They’re the three basics that are just something that… He could be playing rubbish, you know a 2/10 with the ball; but you’re going to get the other side of him.”

“So if you’re a manager of a team, you take that. It’s a ‘I want the quality and I need the quality, but at least I know I’m definitely going to get hard work, graft, intensity that could feed out to the other team’. More often than not, you’re going to play that player.”

United will face a tougher challenge after the international break when they travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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