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Manchester United are looking to get their season up and running against Fulham today after an opening day defeat at home to Arsenal last weekend.
The 1-0 loss was encouraging in many ways but will mostly be remembered for the pivotal moment, a mistake from goalkeeper Altay Bayindir which gifted the Gunners their winning goal.
It was a reminder of the frailty of Ruben Amorim’s options between the sticks, but the club finally seem to be working on securing the Portuguese coach a new goalkeeper.
Lammens looking likely
The top name on United’s list is Senne Lammens, who currently plays for Belgian side Royal Antwerp.
Speaking on his YouTube channel yesterday Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the Red Devils “remain focused on the opportunity to bring in a new goalkeeper before the end of the window” and that “the player they want is Senne Lammens at Royal Antwerp”.
In positive news for Amorim, the player is “keen on the move” and “the agreement with the player is okay”, while there were further conversations between the two clubs yesterday.
Antwerp playing hardball
But despite everything going smoothly between player and club, United are coming up against a tricky customer in Royal Antwerp.
Romano confirmed that “the two clubs are talking” and explained that while it is “not yet a done deal” talks are nevertheless “advancing”.
The Belgian side, however, seem to be moving the goalposts during negotiations. They have moved on from a reported valuation of €20m and are now asking for “something close to €25m”.
Romano explained that negotiations started at €17m plus €3m in add-ons, but that Antwerp are now digging in and looking for more. He said: “There is negotiation ongoing on the transfer fee, a negotiation on the numbers and the details of the deal.”
Lammens left out
Adding further fuel to the fire, Belgian journalist David Van den Broeck has reported that Lammens will not feature for Antwerp against Mechelen today.
He explains that Lammens is “close to a transfer” to United, so will be kept on the sidelines for the match. Barring a “last-minute change”, Yannick Thoelen will be in goal instead.
Everything is pointing to United getting their man and the latest hike in valuation does not seem to be a problem, although INEOS are famously reluctant to be taken for fools in the transfer market. Galatasaray are also circling and could look to pounce on any indecision from the team in pole position.
Should Lammens arrive at Old Trafford, Romano is at pains to explain that Andre Onana “remains an important player” and is not expected to leave – “at the moment there are no concrete [exit] negotiations taking place.”
Feature image Octavio Passos via Getty Images
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