In Focus: Henderson branching out at Forest after United woe

Dean Henderson could not have dreamed of a more perfect home debut for Nottingham Forest.

The Manchester United loanee saved Declan Rice’s penalty to ensure Forest won 1-0 and he kept his first clean sheet of the season in the process.

Ahead of Forest's next assignment away at Everton on Saturday, we take a closer look at the 25-year-old's prospects.

Wasted season

Henderson made just three appearances in all competitions last term — and none in the Premier League.

In an outspoken interview ahead of the new campaign, he said: "I turned so many good loans down last summer, and they wouldn't let me go.

"It was frustrating. To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal really, at my age. I was fuming."

The England goalkeeper revealed he was told he would be No1 at Old Trafford, before a bout of coronavirus at the start of the season saw David de Gea keep the gloves.

So bruised by the experience, Henderson did not even want to give new boss Erik ten Hag the opportunity to offer him another chance with the Red Devils.

"I didn’t really want the manager to see me in training because I knew he’d probably want to keep me,” he explained.

Early form and praise

The Cumbrian is clearly a man on a mission, desperate to prove United wrong and cement his status as a top flight No1.

Following his new club's 2-0 defeat in their opener at Newcastle, Henderson was in spectacular form in the 1-0 win over West Ham.

Ex-England No1 David James was full of praise after a penalty save ensured the three points stayed in Nottingham.

"I think what he’s done in these opening couple of games, the save from [Tomas] Soucek against West Ham was spectacular," James said.

"The penalty save was well held, he’s gone the right way and everything was very nicely done.

"He just looks like he’s enjoying playing football. When you have a goalkeeper like him enjoying his football it’s great to see."

Top of the lot

The stats show just how impressive Henderson’s start to life at the City Ground has been.

He has made 11 saves — with seven of those coming from inside the box — caught five crosses and made three sweeper keeper regains.

Though two games is a very small sample size, all of those are league-leading hauls.

While his spot-kick heroics snatched the headlines, it was the way he denied towering midfielder Soucek that was most impressive.

The loanee quickly rose to his feet after Pablo Fornals' shot hit the bar and flung himself to his right to claw away the Czech’s goalbound header.

An eye-catching moment, indeed.

Distribution

Henderson was seen as Jordan Pickford’s closest challenger for the England No1 jersey 12 months ago, but he has now been overtaken by Aaron Ramsdale.

The Arsenal stopper has enjoyed a stunning first year at the Emirates and will hope to start when the Three Lions take on Iran in their opening game of the World Cup.

But Henderson will want to be on that plane ahead of the resurgent Nick Pope.

Boss Steve Cooper praised his distribution last Sunday, though it is not the same style that Gareth Southgate would need him to utilise for England.

A whopping 53 of his 66 passes have been long, while his passing accuracy is the lowest in the Premier League at 37.88%.

We are only two games into the campaign but if this is how Forest play, despite having more touches (108) than any other keeper, Henderson may not be a perfect fit for Qatar.

The future

With a contract at Old Trafford until 2025, it is unclear what the future beyond this season holds for Henderson.

De Gea’s error at Brentford brought the decision to let him leave back under the spotlight and Ten Hag, if he lasts until then, may well want a look at him in pre-season.

After the Hammers win, Cooper said: "Having known him now for a few months, what he [Henderson] will do is review the game properly with the goalkeeping staff and work even harder this week to keep improving.

"Like I said about the game, loads of good things but loads we can look at. That's how we work."

For now, Henderson appears to be in the perfect place, working under one of the brightest British coaches in the game.

If he continues to back up his big pre-season words with performances, the sky remains the limit.