Man United boss Erik ten Hag 'held' Nottingham Forest…

Man United boss Erik ten Hag 'held' Nottingham Forest transfer conversation over move

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag asked Nottingham Forest loanee Dean Henderson about a possible return to Old Trafford in the January transfer window, according to reports.

The goalkeeper is on a season-long loan at the City Ground after making the move to play regularly this season. He has done that for Forest, playing all but one of the Reds’ Premier League games up until his injury.

The one game the 25-year-old missed was against parent side United, because he wasn’t eligible to feature. Henderson now faces some time on the sidelines after picking up a thigh injury in last month’s win over Leicester City - it prompted the Reds to make a deadline day move for Keylor Navas who has joined on loan.

But Henderson could reportedly have been heading back to Old Trafford earlier than expected had he given a positive response to Ten Hag. According to the Manchester Evening News , the Unite boss held a video call with Henderson before his injury to ‘gauge his receptiveness’ to returning from his loan spell.

The report says that the goalkeeper stressed that he was committed to seeing out the rest of the season at the City Ground. The call came after Newcastle United recalled Martin Dubravka from a loan spell at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils searching for a replacement.

After Henderson’s stance was reiterated to the club, Man United instead moved for Crystal Palace goalkeeper Jack Butland to provide cover for David De Gea alongside Tom Heaton. Henderson will instead continue his recovery at the City Ground before fighting it out with Navas as the club’s number one for the remainder of the season.

Ten Hag is also said to have been concerned that being part of a team who concede goals would be ‘counter-productive’ to the goalkeeper’s development. But the player was clear in his stance.

Henderson is expected to be on the sidelines for four to five weeks as he recovers from injury. Even if he wasn’t injured The goalkeeper would have likely been ineligible for tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Man United.

How big of a blow would losing Henderson have been? Tell us in the comments section

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