Senne Lammens made Man Utd transfer despite fuming Premier League rivals offering to pay more

New Manchester Unitedgoalkeeper Senne Lammens could have ended up at Aston Villa this summer but the Belgian star opted for Old Trafford, despite Villa reportedly agreeing a higher fee than the Red Devils.

Lammens was United's only deadline day buy as Ruben Amorim finally bolstered his goalkeeping options with the exciting 23-year-old from Royal Antwerp.

His arrival comes as a massive boost to the team after both Andre Onana and No 2 Altay Bayindir were guilty of high profile mistakes this season and Lammens will fancy his chances of becoming the new first choice.

United ended up paying Antwerp around £18.2m for Lammens, with an additional £3.5m coming in add-ons. But the Belgian side actually accepted a higher offer from Villa at one point in the window, according to the Daily Mail.

Lammens could have been a replacement for Emiliano Martinez if he ended up joining United, but Amorim opted for the younger man, who had his heart set on Old Trafford. It displayed the club still have huge pulling power, just as they did with Bryan Mbeumo did amid interest from Tottenham this summer.

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Benjamin Sesko also moved to United after snubbing advances from Newcastle, who offered his club Red Bull Leipzig around £78m. United eventually agreed a lower fee of £74m.

Lammens explained after sealing his move to Old Trafford that he was drawn to the "aura" of the club after speaking to Antwerp team-mates who have played in England.

"In my team in Antwerp, there were some players who were also in England and, when I talked to them about Manchester United, you could directly see their face change," he said. "The club alone, the aura of the club, it’s massive, and being here today, seeing it, it’s a different level.

"You can feel the positive atmosphere that is being created here, and I know that I can make a real impact at the club in the coming years.

"I cannot wait to get to know my team-mates and begin working with Ruben [Amorim] and the coaching staff. This is the perfect place to keep developing, grow together with this exciting team and achieve my career objectives."

DIrector of football Jason Wilcox hailed the player's ability and said he could go on to become a top goalkeeper, praising him for snubbing the advances of rival clubs.

He added: "Senne is an excellent young goalkeeper with great potential. We are delighted that he has chosen to join Manchester United after significant interest from a number of clubs."

Lammens takes United's total summer spending to around £217m. The club sanctioned £71m on Mbeumo and £62.5m on Matheus Cunha, while defender Diego Leon also arrived for around £7m.

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