Manchester United are reportedly willing to keep Dean Henderson at the club despite his strong links to Nottingham Forest.
The Englishman has been expected to leave Old Trafford for several months – essentially, ever since he departed on loan last summer and publicly expressed his frustration at how he’d been treated by United.
His last first-team appearance for the Red Devils came in February 2022 and despite being a Carrington graduate, he made it clear that his priority was game time over being at his boyhood club and sitting on the bench. Henderson then left for Forest without meeting or speaking with Erik ten Hag.
He started 18 Premier League games last term before sustaining a thigh injury against Leicester City on January 14 that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season.
The 26-year-old has since returned to United’s training base to continue his rehabilitation, but all speculation has suggested he would complete a £20 million permanent switch to the Midlands club.
Ten Hag throws spanner in the works for Henderson’s desired exit
However, with United’s talks for Andre Onana recently hitting a roadblock due to a gap in valuation with Inter Milan, Ten Hag isn’t ruling out keeping Henderson around.
The Dutch manager spoke on the goalkeeper situation following the team’s opening pre-season fixture against Leeds United yesterday. He was asked whether Henderson would be a ‘real option’ if their Onana pursuit did not materialise and responded (via The Athletic): “Yes, of course. I followed him through the whole season.”
