The bulletproof self confidence (and potential demise) of Dean Henderson

This Saturday, Nottingham Forest will play their first Premier League match in almost quarter of a century, after they were relegated in 1999 despite successive wins against Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers and their old friends Leicester City in the final three matches of the season. Despite coming up through the play-offs in May, they currently look the best equipped to stay up of the three promoted sides but their fans are almost certainly under no illusions that anything better than a 17th place finish come season’s end would be an absolute triumph upon their long-awaited and welcome return to the top flight.

Forest are due to face Newcastle on Saturday at St James’ Park, a simmering cauldron full of raucous natives who are genuinely enthused by the prospect of a new campaign for the first time in 15 years. For the majority of Forest’s players and their manager, Steve Cooper, it is likely to be a top-flight baptism of fire but in loanee Dean Henderson they have a player who is, by his own account, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, even if assorted figures at his parent club are too blind to see it.

In an airing of grievances with Talksport reminiscent of Father Ted Crilly’s embittered acceptance speech at the Golden Cleric Awards, the 25-year-old described the manner in which he was treated by Manchester United last season as “criminal”. Speaking to Faye Carruthers, he explained how he had been promised the position of first-choice keeper by Ole Gunnar Solskjær, only for the Norwegian to change his mind and plump for David de Gea when Henderson … er, got knacked before the Euros and then fell ill with Covid.

“The conversation I had coming out of the Euros squad was: ‘You’re coming back here to be the No