Tag Archives: Dean Henderson

Five Bargains to shine in the final months of the Premier League season

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With the Premier League set to enter its final two months, now is the perfect time to begin preparations for the all-important run-in. Ending the season with a flurry can be the difference between securing league victory or falling at the final hurdle.

Most fantasy football competitors are going to want to keep hold of their expensive, high-scoring stars. The key now is to find some bargain buys that can complement them with consistent point-scoring performances and the occasional stellar showing.

Below we have highlighted five players that could be in for a good end to the season.

Defender – Joachim Anderson – Fulham – 3.0m

There is no doubting that Fulham have endured a tough campaign, but they are certainly still fighting to stay in the division after an upturn in form.

One key element to this has been their recent battling qualities and new-found rigidity in defence. Scott Parker’s men are now priced at 9/5 with Betiton to go down. In fact, many popular new betting sites now make Sheffield United, West Brom and Newcastle more likely for the drop.

Crucial to this has been 24-year-old Norway defender Joachim Anderson and his partnership with Tosin Adaraybioyo. Fulham’s recent win over Liverpool at Anfield took their clean sheet tally to five in seven.

Goalkeeper – Dean Henderson – Manchester United – 7.0m

Manchester United continue to develop under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their recent win over champions-elect Manchester City proved. United have also looked much more solid at the back thanks to the impressive form of both left-back Luke Shaw and centre-back Harry Maguire.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson is now set to get even more game-time due to David de Gea returning to Spain to be with his new-born child. Henderson took his opportunity with two clean sheets in his first two games. It means he could be a value pick to continue to chalk up more clean sheets heading into the final months.

There is nothing to say de Gea will get the shirt back upon his return and Henderson is also eyeing the number one spot for England ahead of this summer’s Euros.

Defender – Nelson Semedo – Wolves – 4m

Wolves have been inconsistent in the extreme this season as injury issues, formation changes and a questionable summer transfer policy all came to a head in 2020/21.

However, a recent return to their trusted 3-4-3 formation has helped them find their feet again. Nuno’s men now have a favourable run of fixtures against teams below them in the table and this could be a good time to look at their players.

Summer signing Nelson Semedo struggled with the pace of the league early on but looks to have settled down into the right wing-back role at Molineux. He is getting into more advanced positions and benefiting from the extra protection that playing with three centre-backs affords. More points are due to come his way.

Midfielder – Pedro Neto – Wolves – 6.5m

The same reason that Semedo has been included means there is also an argument for finding a space for Portuguese wonderkid Pedro Neto.

The Wolverhampton winger is flourishing in his new role out on the right where he can cut in-field and shoot with his left. However, recent games have also seen examples of how comfortable he is trusting his right foot to get accurate crosses into the box.

He already has five goals and seven assists to his name in the league and will be targeting more in the coming matches. Throughout April and into May, Wolves will take on Fulham, Sheffield United, West Brom, Burnley and Brighton.

Midfield – Mason Mount – Chelsea – 8m

Mason Mount has had a fine campaign for Chelsea and anyone who thought he was only a favourite of former boss Frank Lampard has quickly been proven very wrong.

The young England midfielder has quickly become an important part of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea too. He has scored goals and made assists as Tuchel’s influence has grown. Getting him in your team for the run-in could be a great move.

Chelsea are another side with favourable fixtures on the horizon, including West Brom, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Fulham.

Is David De Gea’s time now up at Manchester United as the club’s number one goalkeeper?

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He has been Manchester United’s number one goalkeeper for a number of years and is seen as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but David De Gea is no longer at his best and is regarded as a player who still has that one big error in him. For sure, he has saved the team on a regular basis during the side’s horrible decline, though, he is simply not doing enough at this moment of time.

Over the last two seasons, the Spaniard has conceded seven huge mistakes that has led directly to a goal in the league, which is the same amount as Bernd Leno, and one less than both Jordan Pickford and Martin Dubravka have conceded, who are nowhere near the level or quality of the 29-year-old.

De Gea’s unfortunate downfall had began at around the 2018 World Cup, where his individual mistakes and lack of leadership in his own penalty box had cost him severely and most importantly for his country, as they were kicked out of competition in the Round of 16 by Russia. Including all the penalties he faced, he only managed to save one of the 11 shots he faced on target. Not only that, Kepa Arrizabalaga is now preferred over him by the national coach Luis Enrique, as the former’s passing ability is superior and more suitable to Spain’s style of play when compared to the latter.

Focusing back to De Gea and his situation at Old Trafford, there are a lot of mixed feelings and opinions on the 29-year-old between the Manchester United supporters, as some will believe he is the most overprotected player at the club whilst others will feel he still one of the best shot-stoppers in Europe but is being constantly let down by the inconsistent defenders in front of him.

The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper was once upon a time, seen as an influential individual that can help the team by saving the Red Devils 10 to 12 points a season. However, when you look back at the nine seasons David De Gea has had at Old Trafford, you could argue that he has had three to four top notch campaigns in goal, while the rest of the time, he has been poor and unconvincing.

Now, he is facing a lot of high pressure and he is not the type of football player to overcome big expectations, as both Dean Henderson and Sergio Romero are waiting patiently to try and become United’s number one goalkeeper. Solskjaer has been calm regarding to the goalkeeping situation and is expected to give the Spaniard his final chance, who will have to up his game to make it count.

Dean Henderson had spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Sheffield United, where he proved to be an important and consistent player for the Blades, who went on to finishing in 9th place under Chris Wilder. The Old Trafford faithful and their opinions on the 23-year-old is straight down the middle, as half of them feel he is in need of more Premier League experience before he become a regular starter at Manchester United, whilst the other half believe that he is ready to takeover from De Gea.

Overall, the goalkeeping dilemma is a win-win situation for Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as they will either experience one of the following; a short term revival from David De Gea or Dean Henderson stepping up to the big occasion and becoming the club’s number one goalkeeper for the next five to ten years. In the end, the club will not be required to spend any time in the transfer market for a goalkeeper, and can focus on the other areas, such as the defence or midfield.

Who will be Man Utd’s number 1 next season?

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David de Gea has just completed his ninth consecutive season as Manchester United’s first choice goalkeeper.

The Spaniard has won the club’s Player of the Year award on four separate occasions, the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets for the 2017-18 season, and been named in the PFA Team of the Year five times.

However, his performances have dropped off incredibly over the past two seasons that many fans were calling for his head before the end of this recently finished campaign.

The 29-year-old has made numerous errors leading to opposition goals during the past two seasons and will face stiff competition next month to earn his right as Manchester United’s number one for their season opener.

That is because Dean Henderson has confirmed he will not be extending his stay at Sheffield United beyond this season.

The Englishman has been on loan at Bramall Lane for the past two seasons, helping the Blades gain a surprise promotion to the Premier League in 2018-19 and then playing a key role in their surprise top half finish.

Henderson confirmed his departure from Sheffield United on Twitter earlier today:

https://twitter.com/deanhenderson/status/1296115779742642178

It is up to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to decide whether to stick with David de Gea or give Dean Henderson a chance when the new top flight campaign starts on 12 September.

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