Edwin van der Sar dismissed the links to Dean Henderson, pinning the blame instead on social media outlets for spreading false rumours.
Dean Henderson has become a frustrated character as he spends more time warming the bench than playing on the field for Manchester United. The goalkeeper, who was primed to become the club’s no.1 choice between the sticks, is a victim of David De Gea’s inspired form this season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferred to play Henderson instead of the Spaniard last season, although De Gea has rediscovered his form and firmly kept the England star out of contention.
Henderson is heavily tipped to leave Manchester United in January, with Newcastle United keeping a firm eye on developments. With game time hard to come by, the keeper has been overlooked for a place in the England squad in recent months, with Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone preferred as backups to Jordan Pickford.
Then come the recent links to Ajax, as the Dutch side prepare for life after Andre Onana who could leave the club in January for Inter Milan. After serving a long doping ban, the Cameroonian is set to move on with just six months left on his contract.
However, former Manchester United goalkeeper and current Ajax director Edwin van der Sar was at hand to dismiss those rumours. His comments on Goal.com via Voetball Primeur attributed those links to false rumours created by many social media outlets.
Van der Sar said, “I’ve heard nowadays you can pay €2,000 a month and hire media agencies to throw out nice stories about players into the world. I’m talking about social media, so to speak. You are continuously linked to players, whether they come from South America or Eastern Europe. But no, this makes no sense.”
Apart from Ajax, plenty of overseas clubs are interested in the keeper. However, realistically, Henderson might prefer to stay in the Premier League to stand a chance to play for England in the World Cup next year. And, as things stand, he will look for a move away as he does not want to spend an entire season on the substitutes bench.
With De Gea performing at his very best, the next real chance for Henderson to feature for Manchester United could be in the FA Cup Third Round clash against Aston Villa on 11th January. Whether he stays at Old Trafford until then or decides to move on remains to be seen. A transfer to Ajax, however, is seemingly not on the cards.
