Dean Henderson has slammed his parent club for breaking their promise to make him the club’s new No.1 goalkeeper.
In an explosive interview with , the 25-year-old claimed that United had told him last summer that he would be replacing David de Gea as the Red Devil’s first choice shot stopper only to go back on their word.
Henderson caught COVID-19 just prior to the start of last season and missed the first few games of the campaign, but when he returned De Gea had re-established his form between the sticks and in the end, the England international made just three appearances in total, none of them in the Premier League.
For the upcoming campaign, he has joined Nottingham Forest on loan, and while excited for that opportunity, Henderson is still furious over what might, or should, have been.
‘To be honest, it has probably been the toughest 12 months of my career. It has been tough, hard, and I am so happy I have gone out the other end of it.
‘The conversation I had coming out of the Euros squad was “you’re coming back here to be the No.1”.
‘I got COVID-19, came back, so I should have still been the No.1, but then nobody followed through with what they had told me. It was frustrating, because I turned down so many good loans last summer for that reason, and they would not let me go.
‘To sit there for 12 months, it is criminal really, at my age, I was fuming.
‘I worked hard on and off the pitch to keep improving, day-in-day-out, and now I am looking forward to the season with Nottingham Forest and ready to go.’
There was much change behind-the-scenes at Old Trafford last season, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had most likely been the one to promise Henderson the No.1 spot, sacked in October and succeeded by interim Ralf Rangnick, which may explain why he was not selected.
While Forest have no buy-out option for Henderson, the keeper doesn’t appear particularly willing to go back to United and may well have burned a few bridges with his comments.
‘I told the hierarchy that I need to be playing football and to let me go, and I was almost gone before the manager [Erik ten Hag] came through the door. I have not spoken to him since,’ he added.
‘You may have noticed that I haven’t been able to do an interview in two years. That’s evident, isn’t it?
‘I just kept myself to myself, I’ve sort of toned down in the sense where I don’t need to be saying stuff, I just go and end up doing it.
‘There’s nothing wrong with self-belief, you have to believe in yourself in this game. Especially in this position you’re probably playing the hardest position on the pitch, you have to believe in yourself.
‘Maybe when I’m younger I said a few things in interviews that I maybe shouldn’t have and it may have been over the top but it’s all part of learning.’
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