Not good enough?! Paul Scholes questions Senne Lammens' long-term future at Man Utd and issues 'brilliant goalkeeper' warning

Manchester United icon Scholes has delivered a sobering reality check regarding the club's current number one, Lammens. The 24-year-old Belgian arrived at Old Trafford from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth £21.7 million last summer and has since managed to displace Altay Bayindir to become a mainstay in the starting eleven.

Scholes articulated his concerns by highlighting the historical necessity of having a world-class presence in goal for any team with aspirations of winning the league. "What team have you seen win the Premier League without a top class goalkeeper?" Scholes asked on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast. "Lammens might be that, I don't know, I think the jury's probably still out on that and then you build from the back four."

The critique from Scholes comes at a time when Manchester United are attempting to rebuild their identity under the management of Michael Carrick. Scholes drew parallels between United's current trajectory and the defensive foundations laid by their rivals in recent seasons, noting that a reliable goalkeeper is the essential starting point for any successful project.

Scholes further elaborated on this point, suggesting that Carrick might need to look for an upgrade if Lammens cannot reach the required level. He added: "It's the way Arsenal started three or four years ago, defensively they have been absolutely brilliant. You need a top class goalkeeper.

"You think of Liverpool's team with Alisson, Raya at Arsenal, Man United with Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar. They've all got brilliant, brilliant goalkeepers. You start from the back, of course you do. Whether Michael's just got to be patient and wait for that, I don't know."

For his part, Lammens has never hidden his desire to become a long-term fixture in Manchester and eventually earn a place alongside the club's greatest ever players. The goalkeeper is well aware of the fickle nature of the English media and the high expectations that come with the United shirt.

Reflecting on the nature of playing in the Premier League, Lammens stated last year: "That's England for you. If things go badly, they can bury you deep, but if things go well, they praise you to the skies.

"I take that with a grain of salt, because to be mentioned in the same sentence as Schmeichel, I'm going to have to prove myself many more times. But I did find it a very nice compliment. I hope to play here for 10 years and be important, so that, like Schmeichel and Van der Sar, I can leave a legacy."

The timing of these comments follows a frustrating Manchester derby where Lammens was unable to prevent Erling Haaland from finding the back of the net. While the defeat was a collective failure, Scholes’ focus on the goalkeeping position indicates that he believes a truly elite stopper might have made the difference in such high-stakes encounters.

As the season progresses, every save and every error from Lammens will be analysed through the lens of Scholes’ "jury is still out" verdict. For a young goalkeeper still finding his feet in the most demanding league in the world, he must demonstrate the consistency and match-winning ability of a Schmeichel or a Van der Sar to silence the doubters.