Why Man Utd Signed Senne Lammens Over Emiliano Martinez

Emiliano Martínez claims no regrets about remaining an Aston Villa player last summer, after appearing to bid farewell to fans and become the subject of interest from Manchester United.

Martínez was visibly emotional at the end of 2024–25, having seemingly made his up mind he would leave Aston Villa in pursuit of a new challenge. But that transfer never materialized.

The Argentine’s future was still uncertain when the new season began in August, suspended for the opening day, making his return in the next Villa match, but then dropped from the squad for a game played the day before the summer transfer deadline.

Manchester United were negotiating with Senne Lammens at the same time but didn’t close that deal until Sept. 1, perhaps in an effort to keep options open and make the most informed choice.

“Sometimes football can change, managers can come in and go. People move around the place, but it doesn't mean that I [don’t] have full respect and love for [Aston Villa],” Martínez told reporters ahead of this week’s Europa League final in Istanbul.

“I had a commitment with Aston Villa. I’m a World Cup winner [with Argentina] with Aston Villa. I won two [Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper awards] with Aston Villa. I will always and forever love this club. One day I am going to retire and somebody else will be between the sticks.

“I’m in a European final, we are in Champions League [next season] again, with all the ups and downs. We’ve got a top coach, we’ve got a top captain, we have a decent core of the team and when we stick together and fight together, we can beat anybody.

“I’m really proud to stay. I made the right choice.”

Why Man Utd Signed Lammens Over Martínez

Man Utd chose to sign Senne Lammens instead. | Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto/Getty Images

In the end, it looked as though Martínez—perhaps realizing he was fighting a losing battle because the offer from Manchester wasn’t coming—didn’t push for the transfer he originally wanted.

Details that have been reported in the months since suggest that the Argentine was the target that ex-United manager Ruben Amorim wanted, favoring a proven player with elite experience as he sought to replace the inconsistent André Onana. But a rival recommendation from within the club was to pursue Lammens, made by knowledgeable goalkeeping scout Tony Coton.

Lammens, far less experienced but very talented and cheaper than Martínez in terms of both transfer fee and salary, had already been on Coton’s radar for six years at that point, even before the former Old Trafford goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach had return to United in 2020.

Coton, it has also been reported, was against pursuing Onana in 2023 when Erik ten Hag was dead set on reuniting with his former Ajax goalkeeper. In 2025, having been burned by going for the superstar choice two years earlier, United listened to Coton instead.

Although he’d been tracking Lammens for a long time through his development with Belgium’s youth national teams, Club Brugge and eventually a senior breakout with Royal Antwerp, Coton explained during a recent appearance on Manchester United’s Inside Carrington podcast that presenting to the young talent in person was an opportunity to assess his other qualities.

“I wanted to see his concentration levels if, when I’m talking, he is looking elsewhere. Is he looking at the video still and this, that and the other?” Coton said. “And he was just locked. He was just locked onto me and I’m thinking: ‘Yeah, he’s got a real focus.’ And I’d seen that in his game.

“[United] asked me could he go straight into the team and I said: ‘Yes, straight away.’ I had to say that anyway because I’d recommended him!”

Martínez Chasing Aston Villa Legend Status

Emiliano Martínez — Martínez remains a huge player for Aston Villa. | Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC/Getty Images

Martínez, who was age 28 by the time he became a top-flight starter after a decade as a backup at Arsenal, has a contract with Aston Villa until the summer of 2029. He would be close to 37 by the time it expires and have spent nine years at Villa Park.

The last few seasons have been some of Villa’s very best ever, going deep in multiple European competitions, qualifying for the Champions League twice and one point away from a second Premier League top-four finish in the space of three years.

Martínez has been a huge part of that, but the one thing missing is a trophy. It is 30 years since Villa’s last piece of major silverware, delivered in the 1996 League Cup final. Helping to end that drought could seal his legacy and status as an all-time club legend.

Villa have lost four finals in the intervening years—two FA Cup, two League Cup—but are potentially just 90 minutes away from triumphing in the 2025–26 Europa League. Unai Emery has won the competition four times before, with Sevilla (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16) and Villarreal (2020–21), and also finished as a runner-up with Arsenal (2018–19). His team is the favorite against Freiburg.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC

Add us as a preferred source on Google