Ruben Amorim explains decision to bench Altay Bayindir and hand new signing Senne Lammens his Man Utd debut against Sunderland

Ruben Amorim has explained why he dropped Altay Bayindir from Manchester United's starting lineup against Sunderland in the Premier League. After a series of disappointing performances for the Red Devils, Amorim benched the Turkey international as he handed a debut to deadline day signing Senne Lammens. The Belgian custodian was finally handed the chance to play more than a month after moving from Royal Antwerp.

Ruben Amorim explains decision to bench Altay Bayindir and hand new signing Senne Lammens his Man Utd debut against SunderlandRuben Amorim explains decision to bench Altay Bayindir and hand new signing Senne Lammens his Man Utd debut against SunderlandRuben Amorim explains decision to bench Altay Bayindir and hand new signing Senne Lammens his Man Utd debut against Sunderland

Lammens, who moved to Old Trafford from on deadline day, was finally handed his maiden start for as Amorim picked the Belgian goalkeeper over Bayindir against in the on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the Premier League game at Old Trafford, Amorim said: “It’s rotation. Everybody has to be ready to play. We need to win this game, every opponent is different, so we try to find the best characteristics to win every match.”

Bayindir was picked as United’s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Andre Onana at the start of the 2025-26 campaign after the Cameroonian goalkeeper had a fallout with Amorim and was eventually sent out on loan to Turkey. With Bayindir between the sticks, United conceded a whopping 11 goals in their first six matches and won just two.

After featuring in Amorim’s lineup against last week, Cunha was surprisingly left on the bench as Mason Mount started ahead of the international. Mount featured alongside Bryan Mbeumo just behind lone striker Benjamin Sesko in the Portuguese coach’s 3-4-2-1 formation.