Dean Henderson Says The Way He Was Treated At Manchester United Was ‘Criminal’

Going into the 2021/22 season at Old Trafford, it looked like Dean Henderson would be taking up the gloves at Old Trafford.

Yet one year later he has again been loaned out by Manchester United, this time going to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest.

Dean Henderson with Nottingham Forest (Alamy)

In the 2020/21 season, Henderson coming into the team helped Manchester United to finish second place in the Premier League, with the defence looking stronger with him in goal.

But the Englishman unfortunately caught a bad case of COVID-19 after returning from the Euros, and then missed out on the start of the season for United.

Some good early season form from David de Gea made dropping him difficult, and Henderson made just two appearances across the entire season.

This was frustrating for the player, and in a recent interview with talkSPORT, the goalkeeper has expressed these frustrations.

He started off by saying “The conversation I had, coming out of the Euro squad, was that you're coming back here to be the number one goalkeeper.“ 

Dean Henderson with England (Alamy)

Henderson continued, “I got covid — unfortunately no one followed through with anything they told me.” Player management was an issue in the 2021/22 season at United, under both Solskjær and Rangnick.

Henderson was clearly a player that was affected by this issue, and his next quotes reflected just how strongly he felt about that.

“I turned so many good loans down last summer for that reason, and they wouldn't let me go. It was frustrating.”

“To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal really, at my age. I was fuming.” Henderson’s choice of words are strong and it is brave of him to do so, especially given he is only on loan.

These words are risky of him, especially with a new manager in Erik ten Hag coming in. The Dutchman does not know him very well, so he could be unimpressed by these quotes.

Henderson has always been an extremely confident character, even from a young age his belief in himself has been crystal clear.

His commanding playstyle also reflects this, and there has been plenty of debate about whether or not David de Gea’s playstyle is right for United, and more specifically for Ten Hag’s style.

His quality is clear, and a good loan at Nottingham Forest could be exactly what Henderson needs to finally achieve his dream of being United’s goalkeeper.

However, some may feel that Henderson should humble himself slightly and not be so outspoken about these matters if he wants to stay long term, as the club could be put off by his behaviour.

The Erik ten Hag era at Manchester United kicks off this Sunday against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League, and they will be hoping for a successful 2022/23 season.