Dean Henderson’s future at Manchester United, according to Ralf Rangnick, will not be decided until the summer.
Henderson, who turns 25 next month, has appeared in only three games this season after making 26 appearances last season when he temporarily cemented himself as the starting goalkeeper.
David de Gea, 31, has been with United since 2011 and recently stated, “I don’t see me leaving Manchester United.” The Spaniard is set to earn his fifth Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, which would be a record.
Henderson has a contract with United until 2025, while De Gea has a contract with United until 2023, with an option for an extra year in both deals. Henderson is willing to depart permanently, and when asked if there was an understanding at United that the England international would have to be sold, Rangnick replied: “Those are decisions that should have been made in the summer, not now.
“My and our emphasis is on the forthcoming games, and those types of concerns with goalkeepers and other players are topics for the summer and after the season is over.”
On Saturday, United visit Watford in a rematch of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final game in command in the Premier League. On November 20, Watford trounced United 4-1, and Solskjaer was fired the next morning, with Michael Carrick taking over as caretaker manager for ten days.
United have only lost once in the Premier League since Solskjaer’s dismissal, having been beaten five times throughout his tenure. United has won eight of their 16 games under Rangnick, drawing seven in normal time, although they have only scored two or more goals in five of those games, according to Rangnick.
“At the time, Ole had lost five of his last seven games, so morale and confidence were plainly low,” Rangnick added. “To qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League, Michael Carrick and his coaching staff had two strong results in the Premier League and one critical away win against Villarreal.
“Since then, my duty has been to stabilize the team and reduce the number of goals conceded. Until then, I believe they conceded more than two goals per game, and we have done too, but not as many as they did at the time.
“But, as a manager, you always want to make progress faster, and this is the next step, so we’ll make sure that in the coming weeks we become more resilient and stable in our performances both within games and from one game to the next.
“With the help of the team, we can hopefully take the next step.”
