Dean Henderson can only blame himself if he doesn't get another Manchester United chance

Dean Henderson joined Manchester United's academy as a teenager and he dreamed of becoming the club's starting goalkeeper.

In the summer of 2021, he was within touching distance of realising that ambition when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave him assurances that he'd be the first-choice goalkeeper for the new season, a promise that wasn't subsequently kept.

Henderson contracted Covid-19 and he struggled with 'prolonged fatigue', meaning he was unavailable for the opening game of the 2021/22 Premier League season. David de Gea started that game instead and never looked back.

De Gea made a brilliant start to the campaign and he changed Solskjaer's mind. Henderson was stuck on the bench when he returned and having been promised the starting berth a few months previously, he was aggrieved at the situation.

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The academy product spent the year on the bench and he was limited to just five appearances, and started to contemplate his long-term future at the club.

Henderson was born in Whitehaven and it's understood that when he was a child, he regularly insisted the only two clubs that he wanted to play for were Carlisle United and Manchester United.

With that context, his reaction to the season is perhaps easier to understand. Henderson was frustrated and he felt let down, which led to him sitting down with talkSPORT for a punchy interview after signing for Nottingham Forest on loan.

Henderson wanted to tell his side of the story and didn't hold back, saying: "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