Manchester United's Smart Move: Tielemans and Lammens
Manchester United have spent heavily – and often awkwardly – on their midfield in recent years. This time, Shay Given thinks they’ve finally beaten the market.
Youri Tielemans for £35 million. In a window where Sandro Tonali cost £100m and Bruno Guimaraes £75m, the former Premier League goalkeeper sees United’s move as cold, hard value.
Speaking to BOYLE Sports, Given did not dress it up.
“Have Manchester United weakened their midfield by not trying to sign Sandro Tonali or Bruno Guimaraes? Well, I think Youri Tielemans is a really good signing,” he said, pointing straight at the numbers and the context behind them.
Aston Villa, he reminded, were backed into a corner. Tielemans had arrived at Villa Park on a free, and the club’s financial position – not the player’s ability – forced their hand.
“Remember Aston Villa only had to sell him because of financial reasons, because they signed him on a free. That’s frustrating for Villa because they have two billionaire owners but that’s what the rules say.”
From United’s side, it looks ruthless and smart. A 27-year-old with deep Premier League experience and a full international career behind him, secured for a fee that now sits firmly in the “bargain” bracket.
“To sign Tielemans for £35 million when Sandro Tonali was £100 million, well that’s actually a really good piece of business because United are getting a really experienced player for club and country.”
For a club accused of overpaying for potential, this is a move built on proof. Tielemans has already carried the weight of expectation at Leicester and in Europe. United are buying a player who knows the league, knows the tempo, and has already made mistakes elsewhere on someone else’s time.
Lammens and the End of the Goalkeeper Carousel
If Tielemans is the smart market play, Senne Lammens is the emotional one – the position United fans have fretted about ever since David De Gea’s form began to fray.
Given has watched the revolving door in goal at Old Trafford with the same unease as the supporters. Now he believes the club might finally have its answer.
“I think Senne Lammens has got the lot,” he said. “He’s been a breath of fresh air for Manchester United.”
The praise is not casual. For Given, Lammens is the most complete goalkeeper the club have had since De Gea’s prime years. Calm, composed, and technically assured, the 24-year-old has changed the mood behind United’s back line.
Given admits he was surprised Ruben Amorim did not throw him straight into the fire.
“I was surprised Ruben Amorim didn’t put him straight in as they signed him because Andre Onana and Altay Bayındır weren’t at the level required, if I’m being brutally honest.
“The first Manchester derby after they signed him could have been his first game. City put Gianluigi Donnarumma straight in. I think Amorim hesitated because Lammens is younger and less experienced in such a big game but I would have chucked him in too because he plays with such a calmness. Nothing seems to faze him.”
That calmness has been tested. On the biggest stage of all.
World Cup Scars, Old Trafford Steel
Lammens’ rise has not been a smooth, upward line. His most high-profile moment so far is a mistake – the fumble on World Cup duty that sent his country home and left him exposed to the harshest kind of scrutiny.
Given, who lived the life of an international goalkeeper, went straight to the psychology of it.
“He was really unfortunate at the World Cup. I think it’s 10 times harder to come off the bench as a goalkeeper than an outfield player,” he explained.
“If you’re a midfielder, you can get the ball, pass it back and get a feel for the game. The first thing Lammens had to do was deal with a shot he would save 99 times out of a 100 and hold on to it.”
The detail matters. A quick warm-up, a long wait, and then a single action that defines a tournament.
“Yes, he did a quick warm up on the side of the pitch but that shot would have been the first time he really felt the ball in probably two hours. He fumbled it and it was a really bad mistake to knock his country out of the World Cup. There will be mental scars from that, but he’s come back to Manchester United and he’ll have time to process that.”
For United, that processing is happening in real time at Carrington and under the lights at Old Trafford. Every clean take, every cross claimed, pushes that World Cup moment a little further into the past.
Trust Restored Between the Posts
United’s defenders have spent years glancing over their shoulders, never entirely sure what was behind them. De Gea’s decline, Onana’s erratic start, the uncertainty around backups – all of it fed into a sense of fragility.
Given believes that is changing with Lammens in goal.
United, in his view, finally have a keeper who makes the pitch feel smaller for opponents and safer for his own back four.
“I like Senne Lammens a lot, I really do. I don’t think United have any problems when it comes to his position now in goal and they’ve got it wrong so many times in the past.”
That word – “trust” – is the one he keeps circling back to.
“I think Lammens has got a big future ahead of him and he’s the sort of goalkeeper that walks onto the pitch and makes everyone feel more secure. They all feel they can trust him. They know he’s going to be a seven or eight out of 10 at least and is going to save them.”
Tielemans to bring control in midfield. Lammens to bring certainty at the back.
For a club that has spent years throwing money at problems without quite solving them, the real question now is simple: have Manchester United finally started buying exactly what they need?
