Rene Meulensteen says Man Utd should have signed Spain’s World Cup hero
Manchester United should have explored a transfer move for Unai Simon, says Rene Meulensteen (Picture: No Tippy Tappy Football) Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen says the club should have made a move for Athletic Bilbao and Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon in the summer transfer window. The Red Devils replaced the error-prone Andre Onana by signing Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp in a deal worth in the region of £18million last summer. The 24-year-old would go on to enjoy a promising debut season at Old Trafford, winning United fans over with a series of impressive performances across his opening 33 appearances. However, it has proven a tricky start to the new campaign for Lammens, with Michael Carrick’s side picking up just four points from their first three matches in the Premier League and conceding six goals in the process. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. At the weekend, Lammens was met with criticism after Tyrique George beat the Belgian at his near post as Everton cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Lammens could do nothing about the Toffees’ second equaliser, though, with substitute Ainsley Maitland-Niles curling home a superb strike from 25 yards to make it 2-2 at the death. ‘Don’t get me wrong, he had a really good season, he made some remarkable saves and he helped United a lot,’ Meulensteen said of Lammens on the latest edition of the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, in partnership with BOYLE Sports. Lammens has conceded six goals in United’s first three league games (Picture: Getty) Meulensteen feels the Belgian is far from the finished article (Picture: Reuters) ‘Would I name him in the same breath as Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar, David de Gea? No. Can he get there? Not sure. ‘I doubt it because I always do my due diligence on things and one of the things I felt with him, he’s still young, but obviously what happened with him at the World Cup is something I identified in him. ‘I think really critical people will probably look at him with the first goal against Everton, near post. ‘For me, if you talk about strengthening, you talk about the two most important people on the pitch: the goalkeeper and the striker. If one can sort goals out and the other can make sure he keeps clean sheets, you’ve got a good chance of winning.’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Carrick insists Man Utd's start to season is 'not that bad' after 2-2 draw to Everton","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/07\/6380575265597538231\/480x270_MP4_6380575265597538231.mp4","description":"Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored an absolute worldie in the sixth minute of added time to seal a 2-2 draw for The Toffees.","duration":"T4M8S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/07\/07\/111091361-0-image-a-43_1788761956815.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-07T07:17:25+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); Having paid close attention to Simon’s performances for Spain at the World Cup, Meulensteen believes United may have missed a trick not trying to sign the shot-stopper from Athletic Bilbao. ‘I thought it would have been a really good bet to get him, I would ha
