Senne Lammens vs Gianluigi Donnarumma: Why Man Utd didn't sign Man City's new goalkeeper

There have been significant rebuilds on both sides of Manchester this summer as United and City prepare to do battle in the first derby of the season today.

They both hope their most valuable piece of business was saved for last with both clubs signing a new goalkeeper on transfer deadline day.

For City, the choice was Gianluigi Donnarumma, a serial winner and one of the most imposing shot stoppers in Europe, signed from Paris Saint-Germain for £26million. United went another way, bringing in a player from outside one of the continent’s major leagues in Senne Lammens who joined from Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp in a £18m deal.

They are two very different approaches, each posing its own risks. While he has a wonderful track record of performing on the biggest stages, Donnarumma does not appear to suit the demands Pep Guardiola has typically placed on his previous goalkeepers in terms of their ability to pass out from the back.

Lammens meanwhile has shone in Belgium but will have experienced nothing like the pressure and scrutiny that awaits him at Old Trafford. United need an instant hero after the calamitous form of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir with the young Belgian immediately under the spotlight when he comes in.

Donnarumma could make his debut in this afternoon’s derby at the Etihad while Lammens may have to wait. But after unconvincing starts to the season, City and United need lift-off and will hope a new presence in goal can be the foundation for that.

Still just 26 years old, Donnarumma is the very definition of a big-game player for club and country with his string of saves in the knockout stages of last season’s Champions League just as important as the magic woven by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele.

Donnarumma comes in to fight James Trafford for the no1 spot.

Since breaking into the first-team at Milan aged just 16, only two goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues have prevented more goals with their saves than Donnarumma. There are no doubts over his ability to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

But the obvious concern if and when he ousts James Trafford in goal is his ability on the ball, something he has sought to reassure City fans over this week. Ederson’s flawless first touch and exceptional passing range were the foundation for so much of the success the club has enjoyed with Guardiola swiftly jettisoning Joe Hart and Claudio Bravo to make way for a goalkeeper built in his vision.

Donnarumma is a different proposition. PSG’s dominance of French football can make passing stats difficult to decipher. But in the Champions League last season against a better standard of opposition, Donnarumma’s pass completion rate stood at 73.9 per cent, playing 40.2 per cent of his passes long. The Italian also ranked among the goalkeepers to play the lowest proportion of his passes forwards (45.6 per cent) in Europe last season.

Despite his huge frame, Donnarumma’s ability to deal with crosses has also been used as a stick to beat him with.

He can struggle with high balls with his crosses stopped percentage last season at 5 per cent. That figure is marginally worse than that of Andre Onana, perpetually stuck on his line in the Premier League, and some way short of that of Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez who led the way last season. The Italian managed just four clean sheets in his 24 Ligue 1 appearances despite PSG’s domestic dominance, recording a save percentage of 66.7 which leaves him right down in 15 th place compared the rest of the division’s shot stoppers.

With United running a tighter ship these days having only just managed to offload some of their biggest earners, signing Donnarumma, one of the best-paid goalkeepers in the world, seemed a non-runner.

United did not formally enter the race to sign him for that very reason, with the club also following a blueprint laid out by Sir Jim Ratcliffe earlier this year when he revealed their intentions to unearth new stars, rather than roll the dice with established names for big money. Instead of targeting one of Europe’s established goalkeepers, an emerging name in Lammens is more in line with INEOS’ thinking.

The stats also suggest United have a man who is ready to come in and deal with the demands of Premier League football.

The 23-year-old has drawn comparisons with his countryman Thibaut Courtois and was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers operating outside Europe’s top five leagues.

The headline stat is hugely impressive – of goalkeepers playing in Europe’s top 10 leagues in the 2024-25 season, Lammens ranked first for total saves made (173) with a 77.4 per cent save percentage.

Lammens is United’s new hope in goal (Picture: Manchester United FC)

On paper, the Belgian would offer United a huge improvement dealing with crosses, boasting near identical stats to another goalkeeper they targeted in Martinez in crossing metrics, also outranking the likes of Onana, Alisson Becker, Ederson, Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson. His crosses stopped percentage (11.2 per cent) is more than double that of Donnarumma last season.

Averaging more saves per match than both Martinez and Donnarumma with a huge save percentage of 81.4 per cent, Lammens has excelled across a number of different areas. While Donnarumma and Martinez might be regarded as the penalty saving kings on the grandest stage, the Belgian is building his own fearsome reputation, stopping five spot kicks since the start of last season – more than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top 10 leagues during that period.

Penalties-aside, Lammens’ stats must be taken into context, however. Those impressive crossing numbers have been achieved in the Belgian league. While he has demonstrated he is proactive in leaving his line and using his 6ft 4inch frame to catch the ball, he has been doing it under relatively little pressure from the opposition. That will not be the case in the Premier League.