A summer transfer between Man Utd and Nottingham Forest is already taking shape and a recent January arrival is likely to prove little more than a stop-gap, per a report.
Once Newcastle recalled Martin Dubravka from his season-long loan at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag was faced with a decision between the sticks.
Tom Heaton is a capable back-up to David de Gea. However, with Manchester United contending for trophies in the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League, Ten Hag cannot run the risk of being caught short if the injury bug bites.
The idea of recalling Dean Henderson from a season-long loan at Nottingham Forest was explored.
However, per the Telegraph, the 25-year-old elected to reject an early return in favour of seeing out the season at the City Ground. Ultimately, United settled on signing Jack Butland on loan from Crystal Palace.
Henderson’s reluctance should perhaps come as no surprise given he was a regular starter under Steve Cooper prior to his thigh injury.
Forest acted quickly upon learning Henderson would miss four-six weeks with the issue. The ultra-experienced Keylor Navas was quickly brought on board from PSG via a six-month loan.
However, the deal does not contain an option to buy and per a fresh report from the Telegraph, Henderson is likely to re-establish himself as Forest’s No 1 far beyond just the current campaign.
Henderson tracking to leave Man Utd for good
Indeed, the newspaper report Henderson is one of Forest’s ‘top targets’ for the summer and a permanent move is in their sights.
What’s more, Henderson’s decision to reject a mid-season return to Old Trafford is viewed as a ‘big positive’ regarding their transfer chances.
If Forest are able to pull off the coup, it stands to reason a permanent deal for Navas won’t be explored.
Journalist James Ducker recently reported United must ‘sell well’ over the summer if Ten Hag is to have enough funds to land high calibre targets.
His top priority is a new centre-forward and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen – who is fast emerging as a top target alongside Harry Kane – could cost as much as £107m.
A £153m trio including Anthony Martial have reportedly already been put up for sale to help clear the decks. Fabrizio Romano recently echoed the claims Martial could be axed.
Henderson was not mentioned in the prior report by the Manchester Evening News, though he too could be sacrificed to free up vital funds for Ten Hag to spend, per the Telegraph.
At 25 and with a contract not expiring until 2025, United should be able to recoup a hefty fee for Henderson.
