Senne Lammens bringing quality and calm and proving to be the goalkeeper Man Utd needed - The Radar
Michael Carrick will go for a third consecutive win as Man Utd head coach against Fulham on Super Sunday and goalkeeper Senne Lammens has a big role to play; The Radar column also reveals the passing stats that set Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa apart
Friday 30 January 2026 12:04, UK
Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Lammens brings calm to Man Utd
💪 Konsa's passing under pressure
🔍 A player to watch this weekend
Lammens impressing
Manchester United beat Arsenal last Sunday with the help of two moments of brilliance from Matheus Cunha and Patrick Dorgu. But their goalkeeper played his part too, albeit in typically understated style. Senne Lammens continues to impress.
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The 23-year-old, an £18m signing from Royal Antwerp, has looked good value ever since his debut in October, when he kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford, instantly bringing a level of calm Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana lacked.
"I think I've done what I had to do, just give the team confidence and be there as a leader behind," he said in an interview with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville in December. "I haven't done too many crazy things but that's also good being a goalkeeper."
Certainly, it is what Manchester United needed, and Lammens has brought plenty more besides. The various ways in which he has improved the side were neatly outlined at the Emirates Stadium as he helped Michael Carrick make it two wins from two.
Firstly, there were examples of his shot-stopping ability, most notably in the first half, when he produced an outstanding reflex save to push Martin Zubimendi's close-range header over the bar. He later got down smartly to deny Bukayo Saka at his near post.
The underlying data shows that, excluding own goals, Lammens has conceded 21 goals from chances worth an expected total of 23.74 since his arrival in the Premier League, giving him a chunky positive differential of nearly three goals prevented across 15 games.
It is a considerable improvement on Bayindir, whose shot-stopping is deemed to be one of his stronger attributes but who had a negative differential for goals prevented across his six starts in the early weeks of the season, according to the same data.
Lammens has proved useful with his feet as well as his hands, particularly over long distances.
He sent 33 of his 36 passes long against Arsenal, having sent 11 out of 13 long in the 2-0 win over Manchester City. Overall this season, Lammens has sent the fourth-highest percentage of passes long among Premier League goalkeepers at 66.15 per cent.
The increased emphasis on directness is a welcome change given the issues United previously encountered when trying to play out from the back under Carrick's predecessor Ruben Amorim.
Lammens' passes, which are usually struck with precision and travel with flat trajectories, serve several functions, allowing Manchester United to bypass their opponents' press and secure territory higher up the pitch by winning headers or second balls.
At the Emirates Stadium, Lammens was able to drop his passes over the top of Arsenal's defensive line repeatedly, meaning Gabriel and William Saliba had to contend with aerial duels and off-the-ball runs in behind simultaneously, often while back-peddling.
Despite his relative inexperience, Lammens has handled the step up to a role once described by Neville as the most difficult in football impressively. He has gone from facing Beerschot and Westerlo to Manchester City and Arsenal in the space of a year.
He had, of course, demonstrated considerable potential in Belgium. But if there was one area of uncertainty coming to the Premier League, it was how he might handle the aerial side of things.
"The most important and most difficult thing, especially as a goalkeeper, is the set-pieces," he added to Neville in December. "That's unique to England, the physicality. They try to block you, they make it as difficult as they can for you."
Lammens was beaten from one such set-piece against Arsenal, unable to claim Saka's corner before it was prodded over the line by Mikel Merino. But he otherwise stood up to the challenge well, confidently commanding his box in difficult circumstances.
In fact, he finished the game having made more catches and punches than any other goalkeeper against Arsenal all season. His combined total of six was the fourth-highest by a goalkeeper in any Premier League fixture so far this term.
It all adds up to a level of security in goal that Manchester United have not had since the departure of David De Gea. Onana made three errors leading directly to goals last season in the Premier League, according to Opta. Lammens, by contrast, is yet to even make one leading to a shot.
Quiet reliability does not generate many headlines. Lammens is a calm character off the pitch as well as on it. "I understand I might come across as boring," he said in an interview in Belgium in October, "but that's the goalkeeper I want to be."
And it is exactly the goalkeeper Manchester United needed.
Konsa's composure
Ezri Konsa's second-half introduction from the bench helped Aston Villa come from behind to beat Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League on Thursday. The centre-back brought his usual composure on the ball, completing all but one of his 20 passes.
His reliability in possession is one of many strengths and it applies even in challenging circumstances. In the Premier League this season, Konsa has completed 448 out of 492 passes when under high-intensity pressure, giving him a higher accuracy rate than any other player in the division at 91 per cent.
The 28-year-old is having an outstanding season, pushing his claim to an England starting spot alongside Marc Guehi at this summer's World Cup, helped by a level of technical ability and press-resistance to match his quality defensively.
Aston Villa will expect another demonstration of his all-round ability when he faces former club Brentford, live on Sky Sports on Sunday.
Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on
Having followed up his goals against West Ham, Borussia Dortmund and Burnley with an assist against Eintracht Frankfurt, Cristian Romero will be aiming to register a goal involvement for a fifth consecutive game when Spurs face Manchester City, live on Sky Sports on Sunday. The centre-back's attacking contributions have helped keep head coach Thomas Frank in the job.
Live Radar: What's on Sky this weekend?
Don't miss Chelsea's meeting with West Ham at Stamford Bridge, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm on Saturday, ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off.
Sunday brings another multiview extravaganza, with Aston Villa vs Brentford, Man Utd vs Fulham and Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace all live across Sky Sports from 1pm, kicking off at 2pm, before Spurs vs Man City at 4.30pm.
Join David Jones and Jamie Carragher for Sunderland vs Burnley on Monday Night Football from 7pm Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, with kick-off at 8pm.
Read last week's Radar column
The last column examined the striker situation at Arsenal as Gabriel Jesus, Viktor Gyokeres and the returning Kai Havertz vie for the No 9 shirt, and explained why the latter is still top dog.
