Report: Man Utd Near £17.3 Million Signing to Compete With Andre Onana

Ruben Amorim has denied there is any need for Man Utd to sell players before they can buy.

Senne Lammens could take the place of Andre Onana. / Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency|James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

Manchester United are close to signing Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens, according to reports, in a move that could be seen as a significant blow to André Onana.

After missing pre-season through injury, Onana hasn’t walked back into the team since returning to fitness ahead of last week’s season opener against Arsenal, and now faces fresh competition for his place from the highly-rated Lammens.

The Guardian writes that a £17.3 million ($23.4 million) deal is on the cards, with an expectation that the 23-year-old Belgian will do battle with Onana for the starting spot.

Lammens was developed at Club Brugge, but a 2023 switch to Antwerp proved to be the springboard his career needed and he became established as No. 1 during a breakout 2024–25 campaign.

The Zottegem-born stopper, who has bags of talent but lacks experience, has been named in Belgium’s last two squads but remains uncapped at senior international level.

After being declared available beforehand, Onana was surprisingly left out of United’s matchday squad against Arsenal. Ruben Amorim suggested the omission was down to choosing “the best players for each game” and a reward to Altay Bayındır for pre-season performances.

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André Onana has endured two challenging seasons. / Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Bayındır was at fault for the decisive Arsenal goal. But, speaking again ahead of United’s next game against Fulham, Amorim didn’t commit to restoring Onana to the lineup: “He is ready to play like last week, so we will see in the game who is going to be the goalkeeper.”

Lammens stands to be United’s fifth signing of the summer, on top of the £213 million already committed to the captures of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško and Diego León.

Much was made about the club’s potentially challenging financial position coming into the summer transfer window, especially without being able to count on revenue from European competition in 2025–26. United are yet to complete a permanent sale this summer, but Amorim insisted there is no direct link between outgoings and further incomings.

“We don’t know what is going to happen but we are not waiting to take out someone to bring in another. One is not responsible for the other,” he said.

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