Will Dean Henderson usurp David de Gea as Manchester United's number one goalkeeper next season, or will Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stick with his long-serving Spaniard?
Football journalist Daniel Harris went through his Manchester United squad depth chart on OTB AM, with the goalkeeping position creating a minor headache.
Henderson this week signed a new six-year deal at Old Trafford, having spent the last two seasons playing regular Premier League football on loan with Sheffield United.
Harris says he feels United may live to regret not cashing in on the 23-year-old, although acknowledged that competition for the number one jersey may benefit the team in the long-run.
"I am slightly confused by this one I must say, and this is why. Ultimately, United and de Gea are stuck with each other. Unless they know somebody that wants to buy him, what United need to do is get the most out of David de Gea.
"Now they might say having someone to push him is the way to do that. I really like Dean Henderson's mentality. He thinks he is good enough to be Manchester United goalkeeper right now, and I admire that.
"However, I haven't seen enough of Dean Henderson to make me think this guys' best is anywhere near David de Gea's best.
"What I would probably have done is I would have taken the money for Dean Henderson this summer, on the basis that if he wasn't already at United, I don't think United would be trying to sign him.
"I'm also concerned that United will have to generate money for players, that they need to make the team better, from sales.
"So, [paying] Dean Henderson's wages instead of selling him for 50 or 60 million quid, and then buying a defender or a midfield player with that money doesn't make that much sense to me.
Take me home, United Road
To the place, I belong
To Old Trafford, to see United
Take me home, United Road...
🔜🔛🔝 #MUFC pic.twitter.com/NOwMlA52AN— Dean Henderson (@deanhenderson) August 26, 2020
"Even though I appreciate that it's good to have competition, you don't want to get into the kind of situation that England were in the late 70s and early 80s, where they were literally playing Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton in alternate games."
Harris added that it is likely Henderson has been promised game time in advance of signing his new contract, so a rotating goalkeeper situation may not be out of the question in some capacity.
"I want David de Gea to play as many games as possible, I want him to build up a rapport with his defenders - perhaps it's wishful thinking because at no point has he really showed signs of even being interested in dominating his defence.
"That is something that you could probably rely on Dean Henderson to do because he is more that kind of personality.
"I certainly can understand why they've signed Dean Henderson, I do. One thing we've seen with United over the last bit of time is rather than get rid of players, they're trying to sign them to contracts in a bid to drive up their price.
"With players that people aren't too keen to get hold of, like Smalling and Jones and Rojo, it makes them harder to sell. But perhaps in the case of Dean Henderson it might make him easier to sell because people are still interested.
🔴 An update on Dean Henderson's #MUFC future 👇
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 26, 2020
"The chances are, before signing that contract, Dean Henderson has not only been given assurances about the number of noughts on his payslip, but he's also been given assurances about the amount of football he's going to play.
"So I guess Sergio Romero is on the way out, and Henderson will be playing some games next season. I don't know if I think that is the right thing to do... I need to see more of him [Henderson], and I'm slightly dubious that he is as good as David de Gea.
"If you play in goal with a really good team and a really good defence, which United don't yet have but might be looking to have, then a goalkeeper like Edwin van der Sar is adequate.
"I can't remember that many brilliant games or saves van der Sar had - I can remember a brilliant one at Fulham in '06-07 when Ronaldo scored in the last two or three minutes, and that was the kind of win that set up United winning the league again.
"But I also can't remember that many terrible mistakes that Edwin van der Sar made. And perhaps Dean Henderson will mature into that kind of keeper, because I'm not sure he has the athleticism and the reaction speed to be the goalkeeper that makes miraculous saves, like Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea."
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