Wayne Rooney has slammed Manchester United for signing goalkeeper Senne Lammens, branding the transfer a panic buy after the Belgian was left on the bench in the derby defeat to Manchester City.
Manchester United lost 3-0 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Phil Foden scored the opener before Erling Haaland netted twice in the second half to secure victory.
Despite being signed for £18m on deadline day, Senne Lammens did not feature. Manager Rúben Amorim instead trusted Altay Bayindir, a decision that left Rooney questioning the club’s transfer policy.
Rooney said on his BBC podcast:
“If you’re buying a new goalkeeper and he’s not ready to come in, that’s a bit of a concern. You don’t know if that was a panic buy.”
The former striker compared the situation to Gianluigi Donnarumma, who joined Manchester City for £26m after leaving PSG. Donnarumma went straight into City’s lineup and kept a clean sheet in his debut.
Rooney insisted that Donnarumma would have been the smarter option and repeated his criticism of United’s recruitment strategy.
“Donnarumma comes straight in and keeps a clean sheet. That was my point after the first game of the season when I said United should go and get Donnarumma.”
With pressure growing on Amorim, United’s summer signings are already under scrutiny.
