Man Utd set to loan out Henderson – where could he go?

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are looking into the possibility of loaning out Dean Henderson in January, with the player keen to get some first-team football in order to remain in Gareth Southgate’s plans for Euro 2020.

Henderson spent the last two years on loan at Sheffield United and was key in the Blades earning promotion to the Premier League as well as impressing in their first season back up, earning a ninth-place finish.

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There were talks of a third season spent on loan at Bramall Lane, but Man Utd and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted to keep Henderson with the senior squad for the 2020/21 campaign in order to provide competition for number one goalkeeper David de Gea, who has suffered from a drop in performance quality over the past few years.

However, Henderson has started just three matches this season – two in the League Cup and one in the Champions League. The start against Basaksehir could have been a turning point, but Man Utd put in one of their worst performances of the season to lose 2-1 against the Turkish outfit, with the defence and Henderson looking vulnerable.

According to ESPN, the 23-year-old has been told by Southgate that he must see more first-team football if he is to have any hope of challenging Jordan Pickford for the England number one jersey.

So, where could he go for six months?

Sheffield United

When a loan move back to Sheffield Utd didn’t materialise in the summer, the Blades spent big on Fulham’s Aaron Ramsdale, signing him for £20m.

However, Chris Wilder and his charges are finding things very, very, tough in their second season back in the Premier League, and have recorded just one point from their opening eight matches.

This is by no means down to Ramsdale, with goalscoring at the other end of the pitch the major issue, but if they can get Henderson back to solidify that backline, even for just six months, it seems like a scenario which could work out for everyone.

Leeds United

In the summer Leeds completed the permanent signing of Illan Meslier from Lorient after impressing as an understudy to Kiko Casilla the previous season, with him eventually taking the number one spot due to a lengthy suspension for the Spaniard.

Meslier has impressed on occasion this season, but at just 20-years-old it wouldn’t hurt to take him out of the limelight for half a campaign to bring in someone more experienced (even if Henderson is just three years older).

Conceding goals has been a problem for Leeds this season as they have let it 17 in eight games which is the joint worst record in the league alongside West Brom.

Henderson could solve at least part of that problem.

Everton

Could Henderson and Pickford compete not just for the England number one jersey, but also Everton’s?

The Toffees stopper has been in the press for more negative reasons than positive so far this season, with a few goalkeeping clangers exacerbated by his tackle on Virgil van Dijk during the Merseyside derby which left the Dutchman with a knee injury that could see him miss the entire season.

Everton did sign Robin Olsen in the summer as competition for Pickford, but doesn’t seem up to the task.

The only problem with this one would be that the loan signing of Henderson would be a real sign of distrust to Pickford from manager Carlo Ancelotti.