Dean Henderson will push to leave Manchester United in the summer if he does not displace David de Gea as the team's starting goalkeeper.
De Gea has impressed so far this season, restricting 24-year-old Henderson, who was left fatigued during pre-season by a bout of COVID-19, to just one Carabao Cup outing since the start of the campaign. He was recently left out of the England squad for the third time in a row.
As noted by the Daily Mail, Henderson still wants to be a success at Old Trafford, but he fears that his career is stagnating on the United bench and he is begrudgingly prepared to seek an exit at the end of the campaign.
A January move had not been ruled out either, with Newcastle United touted as potential suitors, but United are unlikely to let Henderson go mid-season and may urge him to wait until the summer. 90min reported in September that his representatives are already looking at options, both within the Premier League and abroad.
There are some concerns at board level that De Gea could endure another slump in form over the coming months and Henderson could be required to fill in, but unless the Englishman is promised a starting role for the 2022/23 season, he will likely look for a transfer.
With three and a half years remaining on his contract, Henderson will still be able to command a sizeable transfer fee for United, who have been bracing themselves to sell one of their big-name goalkeepers for a while now.
Last season, it looked like it could be De Gea's time to go. The Spaniard wasn't particularly impressive on the pitch, but he was given the chance to start the new season after Henderson picked up a hip injury which robbed him of a place at Euro 2020.
The Englishman then tested positive for COVID-19 in July and missed pre-season with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, and De Gea took advantage of that with a good run of form which has seen him cement his spot in the starting lineup again.
De Gea remains under contract until 2023, with the option for a further year, so United find themselves under no immediate pressure to make a decision in the goalkeeper department.
35-year-old Tom Heaton has been the third-choice goalkeeper this season but would be a capable backup for either De Gea or Henderson should one of the two be offloaded this summer.
Source : 90min