Aston Villa are planning a summer move for Manchester United youngster Dean Henderson. According to recent reports in the English press, the Villans are looking to secure the services of the 20-year-old English keeper in the summer who has impressed on loan at League One promotion contenders Shrewsbury Town. It is believed that he would not have a long-term future at Old Trafford with Villa keeping tabs on his progress. The West Midlands club already has the Reds Devils’ stopper, Sam Johnstone in their squad, after he arrived last summer on a season-long loan deal but will face a stiff challenge to secure his signature on a permanent deal.
Villa boss Steve Bruce is on the lookout for a new goalkeeper ahead of their next campaign in the summer transfer window and has sent their scout Tony Coton to monitor the progress of Henderson and catch him in action last week. Some sources claim that Coton has given Bruce a glowing report about the 20-year-old keeper. The Whitehaven born player has just six months remaining on his current contract with Manchester United and has gathered a lot of interest from a whole host of clubs in European football.
The Premier League duo of Arsenal and Chelsea have both been linked with the keeper of late and there has also been interest from European clubs which include Benfica, Roma and Olympiakos.
Henderson has a big dream of lacing up for Manchester United as their first-team goalkeeper but is aware of the fact that David De Gea is set to extend his stay at Old Trafford. The on-loan Shrewsbury Town keeper has put in some dazzling displays for the League One side this season, conceding just 19 goals in 28 matches in all competitions. He has kept 14 clean sheets which have helped his side climb to third place in the league table.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa are currently in 4th place in the Championship standings and are well in contention to secure a playoff spot at the end of the season. However, Steve Bruce might want to push for an automatic promotion spot by chasing down second-placed Derby County who are just three points above them. A Premier League promotion this season will definitely boost their chances of securing Henderson’s signature with the lure of regular football at the top tier of English football a major selling point which could be enough to convince the player to opt for Villa.
It remains to be seen what lies ahead in the future of the 20-year-old prospect and whether the Villans are successful in pursuit of his signature.
