Dean Henderson vs David de Gea: The goalkeeping dilemma that could define Manchester United’s season

Henderson has done little wrong but De Gea remains United’s undisputed No 1

Manchester United goalkeepers Dean Henderson and David de Gea (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

When Dean Henderson signed a new five-year contract with Manchester United at the end of August, finally ruling out a third season on loan at Sheffield United, he may have expected to make more than four starts by the time of his return to Bramall Lane.

A fifth could come against his former club tonight, given his familiarity with Chris Wilder’s side. A sixth at Goodison Park in next week’s EFL Cup quarter-final against Everton may follow. But whether Henderson plays in both of those games or not, one thing is all but certain: David de Gea will still be United's first-choice goalkeeper.

That is not ideal for Henderson, who was arguably the Premier League’s best last season and who returned to his parent club during the summer with genuine hope of fulfilling two long-term ambitions: becoming United’s No 1 and then becoming England’s too. The struggles of De Gea and Jordan Pickford only stood in his favour.

Instead, he is in danger of spending most of this season on the sidelines, bringing his place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad under threat.

Henderson had other options on the table in the summer, as well as returning to United or another season at Bramall Lane. Chelsea were also interested, desperately needing a solution to their Kepa Arrizabalaga problem before eventually signing Edouard Mendy from Rennes. The opportunity to play regularly at a Premier League title contender also competing in the Champions League was worth serious consideration.

Read more: Why Manchester United aren’t scoring at Old Trafford

United were never likely to sell to a direct rival, however, and the same status was on offer at Old Trafford provided he could dislodge De Gea. That has proved to be difficult. De Gea rose to the challenge posed by Henderson’s return, both in training and during matches. His early-season performances were solid and certainly an improvement on how he had ended the summer restart.

Having worked with United’s goalkeeping staff to introduce a new shot-stopping technique during the back end of last season, De Gea returned to more tried and tested methods ahead of the new campaign and regained form. Questions over his automatic starting status are beginning to return though, particularly after his failure to stop Justin Kluivert from scoring the goal which ultimately knocked United out of the Champions League.

At the same time, Henderson has not taken every opportunity to impress. He started in the shambolic 2-1 defeat away to Istanbul Basaksehir - the game which set United’s European campaign off course - and if he was left high and dry by his defence on the first Istanbul goal, his positioning was fairly called into question after the second scored by Edin Visca.

That is the one blot on his copybook, though. After replacing the injured De Gea at half time against Southampton last month, Henderson kept a second half clean sheet at St Mary’s. Despite conceding away to West Ham, his distribution was instrumental in the Paul Pogba equaliser which inspired a 3-1 comeback victory. Even against Luton Town and Brighton in the EFL Cup, Henderson has made important saves at key stages of the game.

Statistically, it is difficult to compare De Gea and Henderson’s performances this season due to the difference in playing time. But a comparison of their performances last season reveals that Henderson fared better when coming to collect crosses and was more comfortable playing outside of his penalty area - two limitations that have previously been highlighted in De Gea’s game.

Of course, the main job is keeping the ball out of the net and Henderson conceded fewer than De Gea last term, despite playing at a newly-promoted club. He still impresses when Sheffield United’s once dependable defence is taken out of the equation.

Post-shot expected goals measure the quality of an on-target shot - essentially estimating how likely a goalkeeper is to save it, allowing us to judge which are costing their teams goals and which are preventing them. Henderson fares well, having prevented five goals last season. De Gea prevented just one by comparison and is slightly costing United this term.

The clearest evidence of Henderson’s quality, however, is how Sheffield United have struggled in his absence. There are other factors behind Wilder’s side taking just one point from 12 games and suffering the worst start in Premier League history, such as the loss of Jack O’Connell to injury, an inability to regularly create clear-cut chances and some truly wasteful finishing.

Dean Henderson impressed on loan at Sheffield United (Getty Images)

Even so, Henderson’s replacement Aaron Ramsdale has conceded as many goals as the post-shot expected numbers suggest. Without Henderson, Wilder’s side do not have a goalkeeper who can be trusted to dig his defence out of a hole. Last season’s overachievers are now badly underachieving. Henderson’s return to his parent club is a huge factor in that.

Solskjaer thanked Sheffield United and Wilder for their role in Henderson’s development yesterday. His time at Bramall Lane had made him a more “mature, quality keeper”, the United manager said. Then came the caveat. There is still room to grow and adapt. “He's learning more and more the United style,” Solskjaer added. “Our play is a bit different, we have different demands of him.”

Clearly, Solskjaer still needs to be convinced and is prepared to wait. He has repeatedly said that while most of his outfield players can rotate and play in a variety of positions, his goalkeepers are fighting for one spot. Competition is good, he says, as it spurs each of them on. “As a manager, you want all the players to feel that they have to perform to really move this team and myself forward,” he said last week.

At the same time, it would be understandable if Henderson begins to wonder whether he too is moving forward. Whether starting or named as a substitute, tonight’s return to Bramall Lane will remind him of a time when he was a regular and despite his rapid progress over the past 18 months, automatic starting status is still some way off.

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