Henderson lashes out at Man Utd over 'criminal' lack of playing time behind De Gea last season

Dean Henderson has hit out at Manchester United for refusing to let him go out on loan last season as he said it was "criminal" that he was forced to waste an entire year of his career serving as David de Gea's backup.

Henderson joined Nottingham Forest on loan this summer after being left frustrated with a lack of chances at Man Utd after emerging as a star at Sheffield United.

He broke into the first team in 2020-21, making 26 total appearances, but played just three times in 2021-22 despite assurances from former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he would feature more prominently for the club.

What did Henderson say?

"I turned so many good loans down last summer for that reason [being promised the No.1 spot], and they wouldn't let me go," he told talkSPORT. "It was frustrating. To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal really, at my age. I was fuming."

He continued: "The conversation I had, coming out of the Euro squad, was that you're coming back here to be the number one goalkeeper. I got Covid - unfortunately, no one followed through with anything they told me."

Henderson's career so far

Henderson joined Manchester United's academy at 14 years old and has embarked on five loan spells before this season's move to Forest.

He's featured for Stockport County, Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield United twice so far in his career.

He earned his first England call-up in October 2019 and made his debut one year later, but was forced to withdraw from England's Euro 2020 squad due to a hip injury.