Dean Henderson: England keeper blasts Manchester Utd treatment as ‘criminal’ in explosive TalkSPORT interview

The Nottingham Forest loanee didn’t pull any punches when speaking ahead of the first weekend of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
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England international goalkeeper Dean Henderson has hit out at Manchester United for the way the club treated him last season.

The 25-year old has joined fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest on loan this summer and has now opened up on last season which he has described as “the toughest 12 months” of his career.

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Henderson began his senior career at the Red Devils, having previously been in the academy of Carlisle United, but has never been established as first choice between the sticks at Old Trafford.

He has had two loan spells at Sheffield United as well as Shrewsbury Town, Grimsby Town and Stockport County and looked like being close to a move to Newcastle United in January this year.

However, that deal did not go through and the England international remained at United as second choice to David de Gea.

Now, he is on record about the past year and his desire to leave Manchester for first team football and this is what he has said:

“I was fuming” - Henderson blasts “criminal” Manchester United treatment

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Speaking to broadcaster TalkSPORT, Henderso discussed how happy he was to have joined Nottingham Forest on loan this summer but opened up about how difficult the past 12 months have been.

He said: “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.

“I am so excited to be at Nottingham Forest and ready to go.

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“The conversation I had coming out of the Euros squad was ‘you’re coming back here to be the No.1.’

“I got COVID, came back, so I should have still been the No.1, but then unfortunately nobody followed through with what they had told me.

“It was frustrating because I turned down so many good loans last summer for that reason, and they would not let me go.

“To sit there and waste 12 months, it is criminal really, at my age, I was fuming.

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“I worked hard off the pitch and on the training pitch to keep improving, day-in-day-out, and now I am looking forward to the season with Nottingham Forest.

“I didn’t really want the manager to come in and see me in training because I knew that he’d probably want to keep me so I tried to do it all before I left for the season.

“I told the hierarchy that I need to be playing football, I don’t want to be here and play second fiddle, it was planned out.

“I was almost gone before the manager [Erik ten Hag] came through the door. I have not spoken to him since.

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“You may have noticed that I haven’t been able to do an interview in two years,” Henderson added. “That’s evident, isn’t it?

“I just kept myself to myself, I’ve sort of toned down in the sense where I don’t need to be saying stuff, I just go and end up doing it.

“There’s nothing wrong with self-belief, you have to believe in yourself in this game.

“Especially in this position you’re probably playing the hardest position on the pitch, you have to believe in yourself.

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“Maybe when I’m younger I said a few things in interviews that I maybe shouldn’t have and it may have been over the top but it’s all part of learning.”

You can read the original TalkSPORT interview HERE.

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