Mannwan: Chelsea once bought Dean Henderson for 40 million pounds, Manchester United finally sold 20 million pounds

May 20th, Manchester Evening News said in a statement about Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson that Manchester United trained players into goalkeepers worth 40 million pounds, but only sold them for 20 million pounds, reflecting another failure of the club in player planning and transfer strategies.

Dean Henderson is a person who is not afraid of challenges. His performance also reflects this in the confrontation with Guardiola after the FA Cup final. He told Guardiola: "You have got the ten minutes of stoppage time you want."

Three England goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Pickford and Ramsdale all have similar personalities, being outspoken, good at expressing, impulsive, and confident and almost arrogant. But Henderson is different from the other two, now he has a championship medal, the FA Cup final can be called a turning point in his career, where he contributed many wonderful saves, although there are also some reckless moments, such as that handball outside the penalty area.

Manchester United once formulated a development blueprint for Henderson. After a series of loans from the National League, English League Two, English League One, English Championship and Premier League, then became Manchester United's No. 1 goalkeeper. When the players joined Stoke Port in early 2016, some Manchester United youth teammates teased him for condescending to go to the non-professional league, but Henderson's advisers told the players that those who laughed at him would not have a career.

Later that year, Henderson was loaned to Greensby Township. In an interview with local media, he said he wanted to be the best goalkeeper in the world, and he was only 19 years old at the time. Mourinho admires Henderson very much, and even said that the player is Manchester United's best goalkeeper when he coaches Tottenham. However, in the summer of 2018, Manchester United and De Gea started negotiations for renewal. After the two sides completed the contract renewal in 2019, Manchester United still plans to allow Henderson to accumulate experience in the top league and then take over De Gea.

In August 2020, Henderson returned to the team from Sheffield United, and his weekly salary was raised to 100,000 pounds. Suddenly, Manchester United had two starting goalkeepers, with a total weekly salary of nearly 500,000 pounds. Chelsea once offered £40 million to buy Henderson, but it was unsuccessful. In the rotational competition with De Gea, Henderson finally lost. He only made three appearances in the 2021-22 season. After the season, the player was loaned to Nottingham Forest, the then-renewed team. In August 2023, Manchester United sold Henderson to Crystal Palace for 15 million pounds. With the floating, the transfer can appreciate to up to 20 million pounds. Henderson, who joined Manchester United at the age of 14, was also very eager to leave for a permanent transfer.