Manchester United goalkeepers David de Gea, Dean Henderson pay tribute to Under 23 goalie Paul Woolston after shock retirement

In a statement on the club’s official website, Manchester United have announced the retirement of reserve goalkeeper Paul Woolston at 23 due to injury, with the senior goalies paying tribute to the youngster after the news broke out.

Having joined the side only in 2018, the Englishman was a regular feature among the youth teams at Carrington, rising through the ranks and consistently performing for the Under-23s. He also regularly trained with the first team at the club.

United’s No.1 David de Gea paid tribute to Woolston about his early retirement, reminding the young keeper that there are more things important to life than football and that he had spoken to the player about this aspect.

“Well, it’s always bad when someone has to retire at a young age. I’ve spoken with him, the other day, and said to him that the most important thing is life, more than football, in terms of a proper life.”

Woolston also featured for his country on the international stage, representing England in the youth levels, which speaks highly of his ability and talent. The Red Devils certainly had a bright star in the making within their ranks, which makes his early retirement unfortunate for both player and club.

“He’s a good lad”

The Under-23 keeper himself spoke out about his experience of retiring at a young age, saying that he was proud of everything that he had achieved in his career so far and that he was looking ahead to the future and what was in store for him.

Dean Henderson also reacted to the news, with the deputy first-team shot-stopper praising Woolston for being a technically gifted goalkeeper, saying that he was confident that the player would put his drive into something else for the future.

“He’s a good lad who knows what he wants. He knew what he wanted when he was a player. He was such a technically gifted goalkeeper as well so it’s such a shame to lose him at such a young age. Going forward, I’m sure he’ll put his drive into something else and it will set him in good stead.”

It certainly is devastating to hear about news of players retiring early, especially when they were tipped to have a bright future. Although it is not known what sort of injury the reserve star had, it seemed to be too much for him to continue his playing career.

The fact that United’s senior keepers paid such glowing and warm tributes to Woolston shows the kind of unity there was between the shot-stoppers at the club, which is highly encouraging to see. The goalkeepers’ union seems well and good at Old Trafford, and we can hope that it continues to be like that.

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The competition in the first team when it comes to deciding the No.1 is top-tier, with academy talents like Henderson also not able to get much of a sniff due to the imposing figure of de Gea in between the sticks. We would ideally have liked to see Woolston also join in with the ranks with the senior squad, but it was not meant to be.

Hopefully, the English star is able to recover well from this blow and pursue an activity that keeps him happy and satisfied in life. As de Gea said, there are other things more important in life than football, and we can only wish Woolston well in his new adventure outside the pitch.