On loan from Manchester United, Dean Henderson has once again proven instrumental in Sheffield United’s success this season. The English goalkeeper has had a tremendous season, keeping the second most clean sheets in the league.
He has also been extremely reliable, producing some magnificent saves to save points for the Blades. Overall, he has outperformed all other English goalkeepers this campaign and should be the England keeper for the European Championships this summer.
Dean Henderson Should Be the England Goalkeeper
Henderson’s Desirable Traits
Good Form
Henderson has helped Sheffield United in their tremendous season so far. The Blades are very much in contention for a Champions League position, something no one would have seen coming at the season’s beginning, and Henderson’s more-than-solid goalkeeping has helped massively. He has, for example, demonstrated his skill in a vast amount of situations.
The 22-year-old has shown his capabilities in one on one situations, fending off some of the world’s best such as Mohamed Salah. He also has incredible technique, like making himself big, giving the attacker a far lower chance of scoring, and has incredible reflexes. He has shown that, while he does not make mistakes, he is also able to perform wonderful saves, a quality possessed by only the world’s best.
Capacity to Be a Long Term Fix
Giving Henderson as much international experience as early in his career as possible is key for giving him the best chance at being England’s number one for some time. Having already obtained Premier League experience at one of the highest levels, the next step in his career, bar becoming Manchester United’s first-choice keeper, is to be that of England. The youngster has proven himself this season, and for him to play as frequently as possible in an England shirt would be beneficial for all parties involved.
Poor Goalkeeping From other English Goalkeepers
Gareth Southgate’s other options in goal have not played as impressively as Henderson this season.
Jordan Pickford
The most notable player to be off their game this campaign is Jordan Pickford. The 26-year-old has been poor so far this season, and his mistakes don’t seem to be slowing down. Not only should he arguably have saved Bruno Fernandes’ effort which earned his Manchester United side a point at Goodson Park, but he also conceded four goals in Everton’s most recent fixture, against Chelsea. These are just two of the many examples of Pickford’s having slipped up this season.
Mistakes like these, especially with them being so frequent, are something no team can afford at the Euros. With England looking to challenge for the crown of Europe’s best international team, they will want the most consistency possible from their goalkeeper, while also providing world-class saves.
Nick Pope
While Nick Pope has not been as error-prone as Pickford this season, he has not performed up to the standard of Henderson. He does, in fact, have more clean sheets than the Blade’s keeper, but has conceded nearly double as many goals as him this season, and has not produced saves of the United keeper’s quality.
With that in mind, Henderson is leading the race to start as England goalkeeper at the upcoming Euros this summer.
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