Rijo Sam Daniel
Report: Manchester United rejected a large bid for Dean Henderson from Chelsea
According to Andy Mitten on The Athletic’s ‘Talk of the Devils’ podcast (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United had rejected a large bid from Chelsea for Dean Henderson in the past. He has struggled to get minutes due to being second fiddle to David De Gea.
The 24-year-old has featured in just one match this season, which was the 1-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham United in the League Cup. Domestic cup competitions were his best bet to gain some minutes, and he would have been disappointed by the Red Devils getting knocked out early in the Carabao Cup.
The Englishman enjoyed great success on loan at Sheffield United, where he spent two successive seasons before returning in 2020. He got brought in to take the spot from De Gea, who had struggled with consistency and was often making mistakes. However, competition seems to have triggered something in the Spaniard which has seen him return to his usual best.
“Chelsea had offered £50m to United for Dean Henderson when they were last looking for a goalkeeper, around the start of the previous [2020-21] season.”
A mistake?
The Blues eventually signed Edouard Mendy, who took over the role from Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had failed to justify the world-record fee paid for him. Looking at Henderson’s minutes, if the club had no plans to rely on him, the decision to reject the offer could be considered puzzling.
We would have got a pretty high fee for someone who does not play very much and, that could have helped us in increasing our budget to bring in transfer targets. The second choice goalkeeper got recently linked with a move to Ajax in the January transfer window.
Should he go out on loan and impress elsewhere, we could earn a decent sum, but it would probably not match the bid from the West London club. The £50million offer was an inflated price due to them being direct rivals, and we should have got the money for his services.
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- Ajax Amsterdam keen on luring Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the January window
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If the England star impresses at Amsterdam, we could use him as an option in the future to replace the Spanish goalkeeper who is in the latter stages of his career. That is, of course, if a loan deal gets agreed upon between all the parties. The former still has years in his bag, and a loan move similar to Sheffield may be the best decision to take.
Henderson will be on goal for us against Young Boys in the Champions League after Ralf Rangnick had confirmed his starting spot. It could be a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his talents to kickstart his stagnating career.
