Dean Henderson blasts ‘criminal’ Manchester United for not making him the club’s No.1 goalkeeper

Dean Henderson has slammed his parent club Manchester United for breaking their promise to make him the club’s new No.1 goalkeeper.

In an explosive interview with talkSPORT, 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