"What team have you seen win the Premier League without a top-class goalkeeper?" That's the question Paul Scholes put to Nicky Butt on their podcast — and he's not sure Senne Lammens has the answer yet.
The Belgian had a genuinely impressive debut season at Old Trafford after joining from Royal Antwerp for $24.5 million at the end of the 2025 summer window. He became United's undisputed No. 1, kept eight clean sheets, and according to FotMob, prevented 4.4 goals — a figure that actually outperformed both Alisson and David Raya. Only Gianluigi Donnarumma, with 5.8, did more in the Premier League last season.
And yet Scholes won't fully commit. "Lammens might be that; I don't know; I think the jury's probably still out on that," he said. Hard to argue it's a crazy take.
The early signs this season are giving Scholes ammunition
Through four matches of the 2026-27 campaign, Lammens's save percentage has dropped from 66.9% to 58.8%, and he's actually underperformed expectations — conceding 0.5 goals more than the numbers suggest he should have. Four matches is a tiny sample, but it's the kind of start that keeps a legend's doubts alive.
Sir Alex Ferguson had no such reservations last November, calling Lammens "outstanding" after just three or four games. That early seal of approval matters at United — Ferguson's eye for a goalkeeper has a decent track record. Schmeichel. Van der Sar. Both names Lammens himself has cited as the benchmark he's chasing.
Whether he gets anywhere near that level is the real question. United haven't won the league since 2013, and the goalkeeper position has been a revolving door of disappointment — De Gea's slow decline, Onana's two chaotic years before being shipped to Trabzonspor on loan. Lammens is a clear upgrade on recent options. Whether he's a title-winning goalkeeper is a different conversation entirely.
After Sunday's derby defeat, he's not close to being United's biggest problem. But Scholes's question will hang around all season: the top clubs don't win leagues with good-enough goalkeepers. They win them with exceptional ones.
