Man Utd to Offer Dean Henderson Lucrative New Deal to Fend Off Chelsea Advances
By Max Cooper
Manchester United are prepared to offer goalkeeper Dean Henderson a lucrative new deal worth more than £100,000-per-week, in an attempt to fend off interest from Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The young shot-stopper has made a real name for himself in the top flight this year, keeping ten clean sheets with newly-promoted Sheffield United thus far. And his heroics between the sticks have not gone unnoticed, as Frank Lampard's Blues are keen to solve their goalkeeping woes by pinching the rising star.
But Man Utd see Henderson as their future number one, and The Sun reports that the Premier League giants are willing to offer the 23-year-old more than a six-digit salary to convince him to turn down Chelsea's advances.
The new contract would be the goalkeeper's fourth deal with the Red Devils, despite having never actually played a game for the club. Easy, this goalkeeping malarkey.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will face a difficult decision upon Henderson's return from Sheffield United in the summer, as the Englishman will be desperate to land a starting position at Old Trafford in the immediate future.
One man stands in his way, however. David de Gea may not have enjoyed the best form of his career over the past two years, but he is still widely recognised as one of the best in the business.
And the Spaniard is tied to the Red Devils until the end of the 2022/23 campaign - with the option to extend an extra year. Basically, unless Man Utd find a potential suitor who is willing to cough up a whole lot of cash for De Gea, they simply can't afford to leave him rotting on the Old Trafford bench.
This puts Henderson in an awkward position, as the goalkeeper is not far off the level required to start for Solskjaer's side, but he may still be forced to look elsewhere to fulfil his first-team ambitions.
Chelsea are watching the situation closely, but they would have to stump up around £50m to bring the highly-rated shot-stopper to Stamford Bridge.
Decisions, decisions, Dean.