Senne Lammens will come back from his World Cup frustration as a better goalkeeper, according to Manchester United team-mate Tom Heaton.
Lammens was at fault in Belgium’s 2-1 quarter-final loss to Spain when he spilt Pau Cubarsi’s 25-yard strike into the path of Mikel Merino, who fired into the roof of the net for an 88th-minute winner.
Lammens had come off the bench to replace an injured Thibaut Courtois in what was his only appearance at the World Cup.
It was a huge moment for the 24-year-old but, having spoken to him in the aftermath, Heaton has no doubt the man who has locked down United’s number one position will bounce back.
“It was obviously a challenging moment for him, but I think that’s the life of a goalkeeper,” Heaton said following United’s 1-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Wrexham in Helsinki.
“As soon as you put the gloves on and go between the sticks, you have to be ready to deal with that. He certainly is. I actually think he’ll be stronger for it.
“I think his personality is fantastic for a goalkeeper, so no issues there. It’s obviously disappointing for him, but I do honestly think it can help him in the long run.”
All goalkeepers go into a match knowing any mistakes are likely to lead to goals and can determine games. Heaton is sure Lammens has the personality to handle it at the highest level.
“I’ve certainly seen that from him as a young goalkeeper coming into Manchester United and dealing with that unbelievably well,” Heaton added. “I highly doubt he’ll be going into (the next match) with fear or worrying about what may happen.
“It’s more about what you want to go and achieve, whilst also accepting if it happens you can deal with it.”
Heaton signed a new one-year contract this summer and is set to remain as United’s third-choice goalkeeper after the arrival of Karl Darlow, with Altay Bayindir expected to leave.
After Michael Carrick guided United to third place and Champions League football to earn the manager’s position on a permanent basis, the Red Devils are looking to pick up where they left off next term.
“It feels like we’ve got some momentum,” Heaton said. “Obviously it’s been a bit of a strange (pre-season) with the World Cup players sort of drip feeding back into the squad, so that’ll be staggered.
“But it’s just about continuing that momentum and making sure we get everyone up to speed as quickly as we possibly can.”
Heaton played the first 45 minutes in Helsinki, getting a first-hand view of new signing Andrey Santos’ first appearance in red.
“I thought he did well,” Heaton said. “I think he’s been excellent this week in training.
“He’s been good to come and receive the ball, understanding the play, understanding that midfield position, that sort of six role where you understand where the bounces are coming from, how the player is predicting it and putting himself in a position to play forward when he can.
“I’ve been really impressed with that, he’s been sharp, especially early days where everyone’s finding their feet a little bit. That’s been good, long may that continue.”