Following Dean Henderson’s contract extension earlier this week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is relishing the prospect of watching two top goalkeepers battle it out for a starting berth next season. On returning from his season-long loan at Sheffield where he has since been replaced by Aaron Ramsdale, Henderson signed a new five-year deal that will keep him at Old Trafford till 2025.
No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets than Henderson in the last two seasons of English football so it’s not hard to see why he was recalled. In the just-concluded season, only Ederson and Nick Pope had more shutouts than Henderson who was nominated for the Young Player of the Season award due to his contributions towards Sheffield finishing 9th in their first season back among the elite. Coupled with the fact that David de Gea has been far from his best in recent times, the battle is well and truly on.
Speaking in an interview with Manchester United’s website, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “We are delighted that Dean has signed his new contract. He had another great season at Sheffield United, where he gained a lot of experience and grew both as a player and a person. Dean is a fantastic young keeper with the attitude and work-rate to keep improving every day.
We are in a strong position within the goalkeeping department and that gives us the competition for places that we are looking for in the squad. Dean is another great example of the type of player who has come through the Academy and truly understands what it means to be at Manchester United. We are all looking forward to working with Dean and continuing to develop his talent.”
It is very rare that you see two very good goalkeepers in a club at the same time but that is the case currently at Old Trafford. The increased level of competition is expected to elevate the performance levels of both keepers which would do the club the world of good in the long run.
