‘I’ve got to keep my foot on the accelerator,’ says Sheffield United’s Dean Henderson

The 23-year-old goalkeeper, on loan at Sheffield United, made his Premier League debut in August and has impressed so much there was a good chance he might have made his England debut in March had the coronavirus not led to the cancellation of games against Italy and Denmark.

It is Henderson’s second season on loan at Bramall Lane from Manchester United and each has felt like a step up. After playing Championship football for the first time in 2018-19, the excitement of a Premier League debut was even greater.

“It was just something I’d been leading up to my whole life, really,” he said of the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. “I couldn’t wait to get out there and to get a result was even more special, really.

“As a newly-promoted team only one or two of us had played in the Premier League before and a lot of them were only bench appearances. We didn’t really know what to expect and to get a result there was fantastic. The way we did it, (equalising) in the 93rd minute through Billy Sharp was unbelievable.”

The Blades are Henderson’s fourth loan club and from the moment he arrived, he appreciated what a big one they were.

“I went up to see the gaffer (Chris Wilder) and I remember he said, ‘We’ll hopefully get into the play-offs this season,’” recalled Henderson. “I was, like, ‘We need to get automatic.’

“I said it tongue in cheek but it was a great season from all the boys, the memories and relationships I’ve made over the past two seasons have been phenomenal and will live with me forever.”

Henderson was Championship goalkeeper of last season, and called into the England squad this term.

“That’s what you work for, isn’t it?” he said. “I remember being in the airport with my missus in Villa Moana, it was the first time in years I’ve shed a little tear.

“I’ve been there before with the (Under-)21s when it looked impossible (to become first choice). I’ve just got to keep my foot on the accelerator and keep working hard and see where it takes me.”

The Blades are waiting to hear if the Red Devils will allow their goalkeeper to stay, firstly in an extended next season, then next. It says much for their development and his that it is far from certain.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor