Owen Hargreaves names Manchester United’s signing of the season | Football

Owen Hargreaves has named Manchester United’s signing of the season with the Red Devils enjoying a promising campaign and qualifying for the Champions League.

United spent over £200m last summer, bringing Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens to Old Trafford.

All four of those signings have enjoyed encouraging first seasons in Manchester, with Sesko scoring ten goals in 15 appearances since Ruben Amorim was sacked in January.

Cunha and Mbeumo have brought some much-needed flair to United’s attack, sharing 19 goals in all competitions, while Lammens has helped tighten up a previously leaky defence.

Hargreaves has praised the impact of Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko but singled out Lammens as Manchester United’s standout summer signing.

The Belgian goalkeeper was expected to compete with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir for a place in the team but quickly leapfrogged both to become the No. 1 at Old Trafford.

‘I’ll tell you who’s probably been the best signing of all of them: Senne Lammens,’ Hargreaves told TNT Sports. ‘What did he cost? Not a lot so he’s been value for money.

‘I think United looked at it and thought, “what gets us up the table and gets us into the Champions League places?” It’s not a new midfield player or a goalkeeper, it’s goals.

‘So they added Cunha and Mbeumo, guys with Premier League experience who can get you 20-odd goals and United are third right now so I think that’s been proven correct.

‘But I do think if they hadn’t have sorted the goalkeeper out, they wouldn’t be in the top-four.’

Ally McCoist agreed with Hargreaves’ assessment, adding: ‘I don’t think you can underestimate that.

‘If you look at United defensively, they had no confidence at all in what was behind them.

‘All of a sudden they have someone who they do have confidence in and I just think that makes such a big difference.’

Lammens has barely put a foot wrong this season and earned more praise for his performance in Manchester United’s goalless draw with Sunderland on Saturday.

‘I think I can be proud of the season I’ve been having,’ said Lammens, who completed an £18m move from Royal Antwerp.

‘I had the perfect opportunity and it was the perfect time to come into the team and to grow.

‘I had a lot of things to learn and still have but in this squad, I also get the opportunity to show myself and to help the team out.

‘It’s been a very good season for me personally. As a team as well, we’ve been growing and now it’s about the next step.

‘Next season is going to be a big one. Everyone’s going to step up again because while this season was okay, it’s not our end goal.

‘We have to keep building on this and try to get better.’

Manchester United’s final two Premier League games of the season are against Nottingham Forest and Brighton.

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