Dean Henderson should be Manchester United's easiest transfer decision
The young Man Utd goalkeeper is thriving on loan at Sheffield United while it has been a mixed season for Spain's David de Gea for Solskjaer's side.
Dean Henderson ought to be named in the Premier League team of the year. He is in contention to win the golden glove, the award for most clean sheets. He will almost certainly be part of England's Euro 2020 squad and should really be his country's No.1 on form.
These aren't extravagant one-eyed statements made because Henderson is contracted to Manchester United. They are reasoned arguments based on his tremendous performances for Sheffield United this season, which rank him among the league's best. Whisper it, even better than David de Gea.
His outrageous triple save in the dying moments of the Blades' 1-0 win over Norwich on Saturday was breathtaking.
Which brings us nicely onto the decision that some are describing as a transfer dilemma for United in the summer. A line in a recent report linking Chelsea with a swoop for Henderson this summer said of the young keeper: "whether he is wanted back at Old Trafford by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer next season remains to be seen".
That doesn't quite tally up with Solskjaer's previous comments about the 22-year-old, though. The Norwegian stated earlier this season that he expects Henderson to "come back one day and have a good career at Man United" — although he's never said definitively whether De Gea or Henderson will be next season's first choice.
In fact, more recently after a De Gea error — that cost United a goal against Everton in their recent 1-1 draw — Solskjaer continued to leave journalists in the dark over the issue.
"We want the best possible squad for Man United and Dean's our player," Solskjaer said. "He's doing really well at the moment. And the day he comes back he's obviously fighting to play here as well.
"David's the best goalkeeper in the world, Dean is a very good challenger and then Sergio [Romero]'s a decent challenger as well."
Surely United's decision, then, is easy: keep both Henderson and De Gea and, as Solskjaer says, allow them to challenge each other for the jersey.
De Gea doesn't have a divine right to be United's No.1, especially when you consider his up and down form in the past 18 months. If he would rather leave the club than battle Henderson, United will be able to net a hefty fee for an elite goalkeeper who is still only 29.
What United cannot afford to do, is allow Henderson another year out on loan or worse a permanent exit. Talk of a move to Chelsea or Tottenham would be utter madness. The Whitehaven-born United youth product is ready for the first team, if his performances for the brilliant Blades this season are an accurate indicator — which they ought to be, considering the forwards he's facing.
Henderson has recorded 10 clean sheets this season, with only Burnley's Nick Pope (11) on a better figure.
If he wins the golden glove, he'd be the first goalkeeper outside of United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool to ever earn the award in its 15-year history. De Gea has only managed it once. Edwin van der Sar only did it once.
It's clear that United have an absolute gem on their hands.
The summer transfer window will bring its usual host of decisions, dilemmas and difficulties for United. Dean Henderson's future should not be among them.
It's a no-brainer for Solskjaer, Ed Woodward and the United decision-makers. They have a ready-made superstar from their academy with a proven track record of performing in the Premier League. It's transfer utopia, though maybe not for De Gea.
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