Nottingham Forest reportedly want to convert Dean Henderson's loan deal from Manchester United into a permanent move.
Having continued to play second fiddle to number one goalkeeper David de Gea at Old Trafford, Henderson left the club on loan once again to join Forest in the summer transfer window.
The England international quickly became Steve Cooper's first choice in between the sticks and has started 18 Premier League games for the Tricky Trees this season, keeping six clean sheets in the process.
Henderson is currently sidelined with a muscular injury, though, leading Forest to bring in Keylor Navas on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day.
Navas made four saves and kept a clean sheet on his debut in a 1-0 win over Leeds United at the weekend, and the Costa Rican will continue in between the sticks while Henderson spends the next few weeks recovering.
© Reuters
The Man United loanee will have a fight on his hands to regain his place in Forest's first XI, but according to The Telegraph, Cooper's side still want to sign him permanently.
The report states that Henderson is one of the Tricky Trees' top priorities for the upcoming summer transfer window, and he is unlikely to be in Erik ten Hag's plans moving forward.
The 25-year-old has been on the books at Old Trafford since joining as a youth player in 2011, and he shone during a two-year loan spell at Sheffield United between 2018 and 2020.
The Blades earned promotion to the Premier League in the 2018-19 season with Henderson in between the sticks, and he proceeded to return to Man United to try to challenge De Gea for the number one spot.
The Englishman was briefly successful in doing so in 2020-21 - making 13 Premier League appearances - but he dropped back down the pecking order under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick last term.
© Reuters
Henderson played just three games in all tournaments in the 2021-22 season - none of which came in the Premier League - and he labelled Man United's treatment of him "criminal" last summer.
"The conversation I had, coming out of the Euro squad, was that you're coming back here to be the number one goalkeeper. I got Covid - unfortunately, no one followed through with anything they told me," the goalkeeper told Sky Sports News.
"I turned so many good loans down last summer, and they wouldn't let me go. It was frustrating. To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal really, at my age. I was fuming.
"I love playing, the manager [Cooper] has been fantastic with me. I want to play for him. He's shown some good trust in me and I want to show the same in him. Facing Manchester United would excite me the most, but I can't play against them - that's me being honest, I'd love to go toe-to-toe with them."
Henderson has kept 13 clean sheets in 29 senior appearances for Man United, and his contract at Old Trafford expires in the summer of 2025.
