Gary Neville has warned returning Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson that he still has plenty to prove after two outstanding loan spells at Sheffield United.
Henderson was arguably the Premier League’s best performing goalkeeper in the 2019/20 season, registering 13 clean sheets and helping the Blades to an unlikely eighth placed finish.
The 23-year-old was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark.
Henderson committed his future to United with a new six-year contract last week, and is ready to go head-to-head with David De Gea to challenge for the number one spot at Old Trafford.
But United great Neville has urged for caution over Henderson, believing he has not yet proven he has the experience to cope with the pressure of being number one at United.
Neville suggested the United goalkeeper spot is arguably the most pressurised position in English football, and thinks it’s not a ‘given’ that he will be first-choice and succeed straight away.
De Gea will be pushed hard by Henderson next season and could relinquish his number one spot if he makes a series of inexplicable errors.
The competition between two top ‘keepers vying for a starting spot will be fascinating next season, but Neville has admitted he is slightly concerned about United’s goalkeeper situation.
“It’s an intriguing one and I’m a little bit worried about it,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“I always like a situation where you’ve got an established number one, who is fantastic, and you’ve got a very good number two, who knows his position.
“De Gea makes a mistake in week two, you know what the media are going to say, is this the moment that Henderson comes in? Ole is going to have that question hanging over him all the time, potentially, during the season. It’s something that is going to provide a challenge for him to be able to manage.”
Listen to Neville’s thoughts on Henderson below, via Sky Sports:
🗣"He still has a lot to prove, playing for Sheffield United is a lot different to the goal mouth in Old Trafford" @GNev2 on Dean Henderson at Manchester United pic.twitter.com/WhIl4sPCt4
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 1, 2020
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