Jealousy of footballers is nothing new. They are living out the childhood dreams of millions, while being paid more than world leaders and chief executives of the biggest companies in the world.
Time spent with Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens elicits a very different kind of envy.
“I try to show the world that I’m just a normal guy,” Lammens tells The i Paper.
“I want to show these children here that everyone can make it. There’s nothing wrong with it, but sometimes there are people who have a different mindset and lifestyle to me.
“But that also makes it feel, for the children, that it’s more difficult to get there. I don’t only want to be looked at as a football player, but also a normal person with his own beliefs.”
Lammens, who joined from Royal Antwerp last summer, is an avid reader (Photo: Man Utd)Interacting with children at Partington Central Academy Primary School, ahead of World Book Day, Lammens looked as at home taking part in a surprise Q&A and sports hall curling as he does in one of the most pressurised positions in world football.
Aged 23, having only ever plied his trade in Belgium – a footballing backwater compared to the scrutiny he is under now – the hugely impressive keeper has become an instant hit among a United fanbase desperate for some stability after several of Lammens’ calamitous predecessors.
Catching crosses has been met by roars from the Old Trafford terraces similar to winning goals in derbies or European semi-finals.
‘I still have to prove myself every week’
In six months, Lammens has been compared to the club’s two greatest-ever goalkeepers – Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar – just from not making mistakes.
Enviable composure that instantly comes across when explaining how it has gone so well thus far, even when perching his six-foot-four build on classroom chairs designed for much smaller frames.
“I take pride in being an all-round [keeper], not really having any flaws,” he continues.
“Not really forcing errors trying to chase the game. I spoke a lot with [United keeper] Tom Heaton, who’s helping me. He says goalkeeping is about not giving things away and keeping your team in the game.
Tom Heaton, pictured on the left, is a useful voice on the training ground (Photo: Getty)“Here you don’t always have the biggest things to do, it’s about staying focused and not giving anything to the opponent, not easy things at least.
“If you want to have a long career, especially in these kinds of clubs, you must be dependable. That’s also something a goalkeeper has to have. Not always the box office stuff or the things people look at first. If you know a little bit about goalkeeping, that’s probably sometimes even as important for your team-mates to trust in you.
“I couldn’t really imagine it going any better than it has so far. But I don’t really want to look back. It’s been great but I still have to prove myself every week. Of course the quality is better, you have to trust in yourself. There’s a reason I’m here, that I made the move.”
The driving factor behind his move
‘I needed a little bit of time to adapt to the league,’ the Belgian admits (Photo: Getty)United fans very nearly didn’t have Lammens to take them to their current safe place. Ruben Amorim pushed for the club to sign enigmatic Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa last summer, someone who understood the demands of the Premier League.
The decision went right down to the wire, but senior figures in the United hierarchy opted for someone with potential, one who they believed had the temperament – something predecessor Andre Onana struggled with – to handle the pressures that come with being United No 1.
Goalkeeper scout Tony Coton, who was not consulted over Onana, played a pivotal role in Ineos’s continuation of its impressive recent transfer market record, after billions wasted through its previous scattergun approach.
“I’d had contact with United for a while,” Lammens says.
“I think Tony Coton was probably one of the biggest influences. I had a good relationship with him from the beginning, so he was always honest with me. I mean everything he said has come true! So he can also have some credit.
“There wasn’t really a clear path [to being No 1] for me. I just had to trust myself. I needed a little bit of time to get used to it and adapt, especially to this league. I knew the chance was going to be there, if it was in the league or in the cups. The way it went was probably – I got my chance, I took it and since then I haven’t really looked back.”
Embracing the physicality of the Premier League
Lammens kept his fifth clean sheet for United against Everton (Photo: Getty)Other than being taken aback by how articulate, in his second language, and self-confident, without showing a hint of arrogance, Lammens is, what is most impressive about the young keeper’s first six months in Manchester is how he has prevailed in the most challenging circumstances.
It has been another tumultuous few months at Old Trafford in the aftermath of Amorim’s acrimonious departure. On the pitch the Premier League has shifted from tiki-taka to set-piece mayhem, with six-yard boxes crowded like never before. There have been calls for greater protection for goalkeepers – the sanctity of the game is at stake.
Like with his quieter and humble lifestyle, where he prefers to read books – his favourite title being Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist – than stumble out of nightclubs, Lammens instead relishes the challenge.
“Physically, it is a bit of war in the 16 [penalty area],” Lammens adds.
“It’s also one of my strengths, I like the challenge. Naturally, I’ve always been a bit bigger, it’s also a positive thing for me the way the Premier League is.
“That’s why United were interested in me because they knew how it was going to be. Fitness-wise is one thing, but also in training, just visualising the things and all those bodies next to you trying to navigate.
“I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone a little bit and dealing with those situations because even though there were a lot of bodies next to me, I still came for crosses. That gives me a good feeling.”
Manchester United Foundation is hosting a children’s book appeal throughout March, encouraging fans to donate new and pre-loved books to children in need
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