Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Dean Henderson could be on the way to Premier League newboys Nottingham Forest soon, as the Reds look to bolster their squad with top-flight talent.
The club has been busy this summer trying to recruit ahead of their return to the Premier League after securing their top-flight status for the first time since 1999 by winning the Championship play-off final, with links picking up steam for Sheffield United wing-back Max Lowe and Besiktas striker Cyle Larin, who they will battle Olympiacos for, despite both clubs being owned by Evangelos Marinakis.
However, their most recent links come closer to the City Ground, as it has been reported that Forest are looking to sign Manchester United outcast Henderson, who has become surplus to requirements with David De Gea continuing to shine at Old Trafford.
Romano revealed their interest on his YouTube channel, stating they could be set to beat Premier League rivals Newcastle United to the Englishman’s signature and it shows their ambitions moving forward as a Premier League club.
He said: “Newcastle have always been interested in him, but they changed their plans in the last few weeks.
“And so now Nottingham Forest are trying this top deal because they have opened talks with Manchester United for Dean Henderson. There is a direct negotiation between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.
“It’s a potential loan deal with a buy option for £20m included, so negotiations ongoing between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest are showing real ambition this summer with Marinakis, the owner who is in charge of the team – of the transfers – of many things, of course, internally at the club, and he wants to show the ideas, the ambition, how Nottingham Forest wants to build something important for the future, and Dean Henderson would be a top, top signing.
“Let’s see if they will complete everything in the coming days, but this is the negotiation right now. Dean Henderson could be the next player to leave Manchester United with Nottingham Forest really interested in signing him.”
TIF Thoughts on Forest signing Henderson…
The £16.2m-rated goalkeeper has been touted as a future star, with former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho stating the England international will be a ‘phenomenal’ player one day and that he has ‘incredible self-confidence’.
Forest could do a lot worse than signing the 25-year-old, who is ready to play more first-team football consistently rather than sitting behind De Gea, who has locked down the No 1 spot.
Henderson barely featured for United last season, failing to make a Premier League appearance and only featuring three times in cup competitions, but looking at his 2020/21 campaign, where he featured 26 times over all competitions, you can see why Forest want to sign him.
According to FBRef, he ranked in the 90th percentile for goals against and save percentage with 76%, as well as in post-shot expected goals with 0.98, which measures how likely a goalkeeper is to save a shot on his goal.
Two of the three teams that came up last season were relegated in Norwich City and Watford, so Forest will want to make sure they don’t repeat this, and making a smart signing in Henderson on loan which allows them to spend elsewhere is a step in the right direction.
Should Forest sign Henderson?
No
Yes
