Diogo Dalot interview: Manchester United defender credits Michael Carrick, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens for team's improvement

I remember being at Carrington last summer reporting on Deadline Day and, although it had been clear for a few weeks it was a move United had been exploring, it still seemed a surprise they completed the transfer of a young Belgian goalkeeper from Royal Antwerp called Senne Lammens.

There was discussion around whether United would move for Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, but after being recommended by scout Tony Coton, the club decided to go for Lammens.

The 23-year-old had never previously played outside of Belgium but is proving to be an astute piece of business by United's often-maligned recruitment department.

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Lammens has started United's last 21 Premier League games, the latest of which featured another strong performance and clean sheet in the win at Everton.

Lammens even received compliments from Toffees boss David Moyes, the former United manager revealing how impressed he had been by the 'keeper's performance amid an aerial bombardment from corners.

Ahead of United's home game against Crystal Palace on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, I sat-down with Diogo Dalot, United's second-longest-serving player, who could not have spoken more highly about his side's last line of defence.

"Straight away, we could see the type of profile that he is as a person, which helps," Dalot told Sky Sports News.

"For you to be a Manchester United goalkeeper you need to be really balanced, because you can go high really quick and you can get low really quick. But you could see he's a really chilled person and he doesn't get carried away."

From my perspective, I can attest to Dalot's assessment of Lammens' character, having spoken to him after United's biggest wins this season - at Liverpool and at Arsenal.

Although he admitted both occasions were among the best moments of his relatively short career so far, Lammens spoke with an authority and calmness which emits in his game.

Lammens has only gone from strength to strength under Michael Carrick, who has turned a previously leaky defence into a more solid unit.

The No 1 position has been largely unresolved since David de Gea's departure, with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir unable to perform consistently. So does Dalot think Lammens is capable of filling the shirt long term?

"We're really happy with the performances that he has, but it's not so surprising because we've seen him every day," he said. "I'm happy that people are getting to see what we saw as soon as he came.

"I think that it's bringing us also to another good level because we need people like this. We need people that, although they are in a very high level, they understand that this is daily work, something that you need to do every single game.

"He knows that he is in one of the hardest positions in football and being a Man Utd goalkeeper is not easy, so he needs all the help that we can give him. But it needs to come from him and I think he has it."

'Carrick exactly what we expected'

Dalot is in a small group of players who had previously worked with Carrick during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reign at the club.

During an almost eight-year stay, Dalot has seen many managers and players come and go. Some were not the right fit, and for some, the size of the club has been too tough to manage.

However, potentially the biggest compliment you can pay to Carrick in his six-game spell back at United so far is that he is making managing the club look fun again. The doom and gloom of the Ruben Amorim era has evaporated - something you can feel from the players under him.

"To be completely honest, he was exactly what I was expecting because I've seen him as an assistant coach," Dalot said of Carrick. "But he had a very important role - he was already very vocal and he had a really good impact on the team.

"Straight away, the biggest advantage that we had with Carrick is that he really knows the club, he knows what to say and he really knows what type of games we're going to play.

"During the week, he's very calm, he's very balanced, which helps us not get carried away when we win. If things are not going well, he always keeps us a little bit more balanced. That helps.

"You can see on the pitch that we look a much more balanced team."

'Sesko's mentality is key'

United's win against Everton last Monday was notable for the fact their three outfield signings from last summer combined for the winner.

From Matheus Cunha's sublime diagonal ball, to Bryan Mbeumo's assist for a lung-bursting Benjamin Sesko to finish, it somewhat vindicated United's transfer strategy last summer.

To improve their league position of 15th last year, United invested in goals, pace and proven Premier League experience.

Although Sesko is in his first season in England, his impact on United's recent results has been vital. With all three forwards in form at the same time, the United hierarchy could be proven right with their approach if they secure Champions League football.

Dalot said: "For you to stay here a long time, you need something else and the biggest advantage obviously for Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha was they already knew the league, they'd already played in England for a long time.

"Then you can see Ben (Sesko) is a really good mentality person, so he already knows that he needs to work really hard to be at this level. You can see the differences.

"You can see, you feel when a player goes to the bench what type of profile he is, whether he comes on for five minutes, if he comes on two minutes. How does he react, even if he is scoring then goes to the bench again?

"This is an insight of a big player, in my opinion. He's still a young player so he knows that he needs to work hard, and I'm very happy that it's been like this because we also need players that have that type of mentality. I'm sure that he will play plenty of games."

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Diogo Dalot interview: Manchester United defender credits Michael Carrick, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens for team's improvement