Galatasaray have outbid Manchester United for Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens as they seek to hijack his proposed move to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have been in talks over a deal for the Belgian shot-stopper for some time now. Lammens is understood to be keen on making the switch to Man Utd, but an agreement on terms is still pending.
Similarly, Man Utd remain locked in discussions with Antwerp over a fee for the 23-year-old. The Belgian side are not making life easy for the Premier League side, reportedly demanding up to €25 million now after talks initially centred around a €20m figure.
Despite this, there is optimism at Man Utd that this transfer will be concluded before the 1 September deadline. In fact, on Tuesday, reports emerged suggesting that an agreement is expected to arrive by Thursday.
However, Lammens has also fielded interest from elsewhere, with Inter and Galatasaray also exploring a deal for the young goalkeeper. The latter, in particular, are not yet ready to give up on him.
Galatasaray outbid Man Utd
According to reliable Turkish transfer insider Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Galatasaray have submitted what is described as a ‘final offer’ for Lammens. The exact value of the bid has not been disclosed, but it is said to be higher than anything Man Utd have put on the table.
The proposal was presented in person by an ‘authorised representative’ of Galatasaray, with Sabuncuoglu echoing reports from earlier in the week, which revealed that a delegation from the Turkish club had arrived in Belgium to discuss a move for Lammens.
This delegation was reportedly present at Antwerp’s 2-1 victory over Mechelen on Sunday, and talks have evidently been ongoing since. The interest from Galatasaray is likely why no agreement with Man Utd has been reached yet, as Antwerp hope for a bidding war.
It is unclear if Lammens himself is giving any thought to moving to Turkey at this stage of his career. That said, he would be the undisputed No.1 at Galatasaray following the departure of club legend Fernando Muslera, while there is no guarantee of regular football at Man Utd as things stand.
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