Lammens Still Has Work to Do, Warns Ferguson's Former Right-Hand Man

Rene Meulensteen has cast doubt over Senne Lammens' readiness to shoulder the goalkeeping burden at Manchester United, despite recognising the 23-year-old's promise for the future.

Lammens arrived from Royal Antwerp for £18m during the summer window, tasked with displacing Andre Onana from the No.1 spot. The Belgian arrived with a relatively modest CV—just 52 senior appearances for his previous club—yet has largely won admirers with his composed displays since touching down at Old Trafford.

However, Meulensteen, who worked alongside Sir Alex Ferguson between 2007 and 2013, believes the timing is not quite right. Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, the former United coach acknowledged Lammens possesses genuine quality but insisted he remains a prospect rather than a finished article.

"This Lammens boy is potentially a really good goalkeeper," Meulensteen explained. "I don't think at this moment in time he's ready, and he's not good enough, for this moment in time, that's my opinion."

The broader concern for Meulensteen extends beyond the goalkeeper. United's leaky defence—which has conceded far too readily this season—represents a more fundamental problem, one that demands immediate attention from incoming management. Meulensteen pointed to the contrasting security offered by goalkeepers at rival institutions, singling out Emiliano Martinez at Aston Villa as an exemplar of the calibre required.

"They concede far too many goals, defensively they're not solid, and every team analyses that, and every team that has the quality and the courage, you're going to create things," he said. "Look at the top, top teams—Arsenal, Liverpool, City—they've all got really good goalkeepers. United it's not good enough. The goalkeepers are not good enough."

Meulensteen has backed Ruben Carrick to address these deficiencies, praising the interim boss's intelligence and pointing to his successful spell at Middlesbrough as evidence of his coaching credentials. Yet he has issued a stern warning: the new regime must act decisively to shore up the backline.

The defensive vulnerabilities came into sharp focus during Darren Fletcher's two games in temporary charge, with gaping holes appearing across the shape. As the pressure mounts ahead of fixtures against Manchester City and Arsenal, Carrick faces an urgent task.

"He has to work in certain aspects, coaching on that pitch is going to be vital because they need to start getting clean sheets," Meulensteen stressed. "That transition from Amorim's system into a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3—your shape has to be coached. What I saw in both of those games, there's gaps all over the place and opposition will exploit that."

Meulensteen expressed confidence in Carrick's ability to implement the necessary fixes, though he acknowledged the complexity of reshaping a squad that harbours issues across multiple departments. The midfield requires attention, he suggested, whilst the attacking personnel possess sufficient firepower to compete at the highest level.

"I trust him in his football ability and intelligence to get that right. I don't think it's too difficult to fix," Meulensteen concluded. "If all the players are available, the best connections at the back need to be established through work and observation. We've talked about the goalkeeper issue, there's issues in midfield, but front wise, there's plenty of power in terms of creating and scoring goals."