Man Utd have “a new hero” and he’s Fernandes-esque

Manchester United claimed their first three points at Anfield in the Premier League since January 2016 when they beat Liverpool 2-1 on Sunday.

The Red Devils have had to wait almost a decade to taste success on the red half of Merseyside, but it came at a great time for Ruben Amorim and his side.

It took around one minute for the away side to take the lead in the match as summer signing Bryan Mbeumo swept the ball into the back of the net.

The Cameroon international has scored three goals in nine matches since his move to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window, and looks to have been a shrewd addition to the squad.

After missing out on European football and losing the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur last season, it was clear that the club needed to invest in the quality of the team.

The Red Devils went for quality over quantity in their recruitment during the summer transfer window, as they only made four significant additions to the squad.

Ranking Man Utd’s summer outfield signings

Man United signed Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £62.5m, Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig for £66.4m, Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford for £71m, and goalkeeper Senne Lammens for £18.2m.

This means that the Premier League giants made three outfield signings to bolster their squad, but all three of them rank within the club’s nine most expensive signings in their history.

When ranking the three outfield signings, it is hard not to put Cunha at the bottom for now. That is not because he has been a flop or because he has performed poorly, but because he has yet to register a single goal or assist for the club.

As you can see in the table above, Sesko and Mbeumo have both notched two Premier League goals for the Red Devils since their big money moves to Old Trafford, whilst Cunha has yet to score from 1.53 xG.

Of the three attackers, Mbeumo is also the only player who has registered an assist for the club. He teed up Mason Mount for the opener in the 2-0 win over Sunderland before the international break.

Therefore, we are ranking the former Brentford star as the pick of the bunch from the three outfield signings, with Sesko in second place, and Cunha in third, for now. However, there is plenty of time left for that to change as the season progresses and players settle into the team.

Now that we have analysed the outfield signings from the summer window, it is only right that we assess how Senne Lammens has started his United career, as he is already looking like he can be a Bruno Fernandes-type player.

Man United’s new Bruno Fernandes-type player

When United spent £56m to sign the Portugal international in January 2020, not many would have expected him to hit the ground running in the way that he did.

Bruno scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in 22 appearances in all competitions during his first six months in England, per Transfermarkt, which was a remarkable start to life at Old Trafford.

The United skipper has since racked up 100 goals and 87 assists in 299 appearances for the club in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, with his latest assist coming for Harry Maguire against Liverpool.

Maguire and Bruno combined to seal the three points for United on Sunday, but it was Lammens who Amorim should be thanking for his performance between the sticks.

The Belgian shot-stopper has made a lightning-fast start to life in goal for United, in the same way that Bruno made a lightning-fast start to life in midfield for the club back in 2020.

A first-choice goalkeeper is a crucial position for a top team. Manchester City have Gianluigi Donnarumma. Liverpool have Alisson, when he is fit. Real Madrid have Thibaut Courtois.

United have been stung by poor goalkeepers in recent seasons, with the likes of Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana, but Lammens looks to be someone they can rely on in net.

The signing from Royal Antwerp has prevented 2.19 goals in his first two matches, conceding one goal, and made several key stops against Liverpool, outperforming Maguire, who did not win a single ground duel, per Sofascore.

United’s central defender may have scored the winner, but his blushes were spared in the first half when Lammens brilliantly denied Alexander Isak, after the Swedish forward got the run on Maguire and Luke Shaw.

Lammens’ brilliant start to life at Old Trafford may also be a sign of things to come from him, if his statistics from the 2024/25 campaign, in which he was hailed as “phenomenal” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, are anything to go by. As it happens, Kulig called him “a new hero” for Old Trafford after his display on Sunday.

As you can see in the table above, the Belgian titan prevented a staggering 15.57 goals with his shot-stopping in the Pro League last season, around nine more goals than any Premier League goalkeeper prevented.

After just two appearances in the division, per Sofascore, Lammens ranks as the third-best goalkeeper in the Premier League for goals prevented, behind Dean Henderson and Robin Roefs.

This illustrates the immense impact that the 23-year-old shot-stopper has made since his debut against Sunderland, as he has won his side potentially four extra points with his impressive stops against the Black Cats and Liverpool.

United and Amorim will now be hoping that Lammens can continue to shine and win points for United between the sticks, in the same way that Bruno continued to win points with goals and assists after his excellent start in 2020.