Dean Henderson sends plea to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after David De Gea mistakes
Dean Henderson is desperate to show he is ready to replace David De Gea as Manchester United's No.1.
De Gea, United's first-choice keeper for the past decade, is under fresh pressure after his costly blunders in Saturday's 3-3 draw at home to Everton.
The Spaniard was at fault for two of Everton's goals, leading to renewed calls for England international Henderson to be given a run in the side.
Henderson, 23, is set to play in Tuesday night's FA Cup tie against West Ham at Old Trafford, having started in previous rounds against Liverpool and Watford.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Henderson is impatient to prove himself after returning from last season's successful loan spell at Sheffield United.
And with calls for De Gea to be dropped, an impressive display from Henderson tonight could ultimately convince Solskjaer the time has come to give him a run in the side.
“Dean's played well when he’s got the chance,” said Solskjaer. “For me, he’s developed his game.
“I know he’s not played as many games as he would’ve done last season.
“But you see, in every game when he plays and in training, his improvement, and he's working hard on a couple of aspects that we’ve spoken about.
“And I’ve been impressed with his attitude and work-rate.
“He’s not the most patient guy – he wants to play every game because he knows he will perform well, so long may it continue because he’s improved since he came here.”
Having reached the FA Cup semi-finals last year, losing to Chelsea, Solskajer believes United can go all the way this season and lift his first trophy since taking charge.
“A trophy is always what you’re aiming for,” said Solskjaer. “You want to win every single competition – FA Cup, Europa League, every game you play in the Premier League.
“So that’s the ultimate challenge and a test for a team – to go all the way.
“We’ve improved, we’ve had a plan in place and I think the team is getting better and better.
“Last season we reached the semi-finals. It was disappointing to lose that one and you want to go all the way and lift a trophy.
“That’s not the be all and end all – the bread and butter is the Premier League – but it's also a measure of how good a team is.
“To get to a final, sometimes you’re lucky with the draw, but to win a final all the good teams have been beaten, so that’s the next step for us in the development of this team.”
Solskjaer said his players must quickly put behind them the disappointment of conceding a last-gasp equaliser to drop points against Everton.
“They’ll have to be lifted, but they’ve got the personality, attitude and character to lift themselves,” said the United boss.
“We’re not going to have time to dwell on it too much and show videos, but of course there are details there that we have to improve.
“There's a couple of things we have to look at, but there’s not going to be enough time on the training ground to work on it with the game on Tuesday.”
On the progress made by West Ham this season, under former United boss David Moyes, Solskjaer said: “They’ve improved a lot.
“David has got his team really well organised, as he always does, and he’s got some very good players.”
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