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Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson is reportedly pushing to leave the club on loan in January after David de Gea’s return to form.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun, the 24-year-old is keen to leave his boyhood club during the winter window after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

It was believed that Henderson was due to be named as the club’s No.1 shot-stopper this season ahead of De Gea until the England international suffered from long Covid, forcing him out of action in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Manchester United fans may be worried

Henderson first rose to prominence during an impressive two-year loan spell at Sheffield United, first helping them win promotion from the Championship in 2018/19 before playing a pivotal part in their ninth-place finish in the Premier League a year later.

His standout performances with the south Yorkshire outfit earned praise from several impressed onlookers, including his former teammate Sander Berge.

“He’s insane. I’ve never been with such a good goalkeeper. One thing in matches, he is almost a defence alone at times, and you feel so secure with him,” the midfielder said in an interview Norwegian outlet VG.

“But people have to see him at training. It’s crazy. He saves balls from one yard. Sometimes I am completely speechless by how good he is. It’s like having two goalkeepers in goal with him. He’s awesome.

“He’s so confident. He knows he is good, and he exploits that too. He is exceptional,” Berge concluded.

Henderson’s magnificent showing saw the ‘keeper return to his parent club last year where he battled De Gea for a place in the starting lineup.

After initially only playing in the cup competitions, the £19.8m-rated gem was awarded his first league start for the Red Devils in March. And Henderson made a good start to life as United’s No.1, keeping three clean sheets in a row.

However, his performance levels began to drop off towards the end of the campaign, and a string over high-profile errors, including mistakes against Liverpool and AC Milan, saw De Gea reinstated as first-choice.

Despite this, it could still be a mistake for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to let the youngsters depart Manchester during the current campaign.

Without genuine competition, De Gea’s performance levels may drop off, and if the Spaniard gets injured, United will be left with an ageing Tom Heaton as a replacement, someone who couldn’t get into Burnely or Aston Villa’s starting lineup in recent years.

It remains to be seen where Henderson’s future lies, both in the short-term and long-term, but the club’s supporters may be worried about this latest revelation as Solskjaer could do with keeping him around until the summer at least, providing United with the best chance of ending the club’s current trophy drought.

And, in other news…Lost possession 15 times: Man Utd liability struggled badly against West Ham 

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim at Aston Villa about what Johan Lange is pushing for from Dean Smith.

What’s the story?

The Midlands club enjoyed a busy summer transfer window which saw numerous players come in and Jack Grealish head to Manchester City, but one man who has kind of been lost in the shuffle over the past few months is Morgan Sanson.

Writing for The Athletic, Evans revealed: “It’s understood that sporting director Johan Lange was very keen for Sanson, who made his first appearance in 149 days for the under-21s last night, to be given a chance to show what he is made of, too. It was Lange who pushed hard for that particular move, with CEO Christian Purslow agreeing that a £14 million deal last January represented good value for money.”

He added: “Whether a perceived fragility comes back to bite Villa in their quest for the top half remains to be seen. Can Luiz pull it all together to become the defensive midfielder Villa are missing? Will Nakamba find some consistency? Or does Sanson fill the gap? The weeks and months ahead should provide some answers.”

Villa fans may be fuming

In what was a rather frustrating first half-season in English football for Sanson, the Frenchman made just nine appearances in the Premier League totaling 291 minutes worth of football.

Following his disappointing displays, former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny said: “I don’t see why they wouldn’t sell him if he’s not producing. It’s only six months and sometimes you’ve got to give players a little bit more time. Not everyone settles well in this country.

“But if they are interested in a couple more midfielders then that could be a sign. There’s no shame in cutting your losses and moving on. People make mistakes. You’re never going to get every signing spot-on.”

Such has been the disappointment surrounding him that reports emerged even in late March that Villa chiefs felt they had made a big mistake in bringing Sanson to the club, and that “he is said to be very difficult to manage, and proved to be so much trouble for two of his former agents they decided to let him go.”

The report added that “there is a feeling in the corridors of power the club ‘haven’t done their homework’ over the 26-year-old Frenchman.”

Given that Villa were after the likes of James Ward-Prowse over the summer transfer window, it was clear that Smith was looking to bring in a new central midfielder. The fact that they haven’t done so, and may need to turn towards a player who both the coaching and recruitment staff seemingly feel isn’t up to scratch, is sure to leave fans fuming.

Lange pushing for Sanson to be given a chance is understandable given that he has only been here for a few months, but should that have been at the expense of potentially pushing the boat out for landing one of their big targets like Ward-Prowse?

Villa fans may be livid over this latest update from Evans.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed a major boost…

A journalist has named five players that Newcastle United could now sign outside of the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Window shut

The window is now shut, meaning that the St. James’ Park faithful cannot bring in any players from other clubs until January.

However, they are still able to sign free agents outside of the window, which is a market that they may explore given that Joe Willock from Arsenal was the only first-team signing in the summer window.

The Latest: Free agents

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ed Mackey has named five free agents that the North East club could now sign.

They are Serge Aurier, Nicolas Nkoulou, Jack Wilshere, Daniel Sturridge and Eliaquim Mangala.

The Verdict: One or two could work

Given that the Tyneside outfit were linked with the likes of Boubacar Kamara, Axel Tuanzebe, Hamza Choudhury and Tom Davies, it is clear that they wanted to bring in another central defender and box-to-box midfielder.

Wilshere has a lot of experience of playing in the Premier League, and if he can stay fit, would be a solid addition in the middle of the park. Whether he can stay healthy is of course a massive ‘if’ however.

Both Nkoulou and Mangala also offer an option at centre-back, and the latter has the added experience of playing in the top flight with both Manchester City and Everton.

Nonetheless, there is still time for Steve Bruce to finalise his squad in time for when the international break finishes.

In other news, find out who may now miss the Manchester United game here!

Leeds United and Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for Dundee United defender Kerr Smith, The Daily Record report.

The Lowdown: Palace win Gallagher race

It’s not the first time both the Whites and the Eagles have been linked with the same player.

Leeds wanted to bring Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher to Elland Road on loan, and a deal appeared to be getting closer.

However, Palace managed to tempt the 21-year-old to stay in London at the last minute and have since confirmed a season-long loan deal.

It appears as if Marcelo Bielsa and Patrick Vieira’s sides could do battle in the market again, this time for Kerr, who was described as ‘fantastic’ by Tangerines defender Mark Conolly earlier this year.

The Latest: Kerr interest

The Daily Record claim that Leeds and Palace, along with Southampton, all remain keen on the centre-back.

The 16-year-old trained with Manchester United earlier this year and appears to be a man in demand, with Aston Villa also linked with a move back in May.

Kerr has made seven senior appearances for Dundee United, two of which have come this season and has two years remaining on his Tannadice Park deal.

The Verdict: Another academy addition?

Leeds have been fairly busy this summer when it comes to bolstering their academy ranks, and you’d expect Kerr would link up with the club’s Under-23’s, should a move materialise.

Lewis Bate has arrived from Chelsea, Amari Miller from Birmingham City and Sean McGurk from Wigan Athletic, so Kerr could be the fourth youth addition.

The Whites will need to get one back on Palace, though, as well as Southampton, if they are to win the race for the Scot.

In other news: Phil Hay addresses Lewis O’Brien links, find out more here. 

Aston Villa are now eyeing a late transfer swoop for Sampdoria attacker Mikkel Damsgaard this summer.

What’s the story?

Despite already bringing in the likes of Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey to reinforce the wide areas, it appears Dean Smith isn’t done revamping his options in that area.

According to Italian publication Calciomercato, Villa are now interested in Denmark international Damsgaard, and that they, along with the likes of Spurs, Milan and Juventus, among others, are keen on luring him away from Sampdoria this summer.

The report added: “So in these last fiery days on the market, the fate of this Danish talent will be decided, of which the new Sampdoria coach Roberto D’aversa has already spoken saying that he hopes to have him at his disposal even if he knows he could lose him, so we are all curious to know whether this Danish talent will continue to amaze in Italy or migrate to other foreign leagues.”

Bye-bye El Ghazi

Dubbed as “magical” by Norwegian football expert Martin Mikkelsen, he also added that the 21-year-old is “dynamic and can go both ways. He is creative but also so mature in his decisions.”

The £26m-rated star has also been hailed as being “phenomenal” by Denmark teammate, Kasper Schmeichel, for his performances at EURO 2020 over the summer – Damsgaard of course struck that superb free-kick in the semi-finals against England.

Crucially however, Damsgaard’s arrival would surely spell the end of the line for Anwar El Ghazi at Villa Park.

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Smith is open to letting the Dutchman leave this summer for an acceptable fee, with Serie A giants AS Roma being mooted as a potential destination.

Were Damsgaard to arrive – someone who predominantly plays on the left-hand side like El Ghazi – then that would surely be the final nail in the coffin for El Ghazi’s time at the club.

It would push him further down the pecking order in terms of wide options Smith has available to him to choose from, and may be the message that he needs to realise his future is better served elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has dropped an Aston Villa transfer update…

Newcastle United may not be able to permanently offload Yoshinori Muto to his Greek Super League suitor Aris Thessaloniki, according to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh. 

The lowdown

Greek outlet Sportime reported on Sunday that Aris, who finished third last season, were in ‘advanced contacts’ with the player.

Newcastle paid £9.5million to sign Muto from Bundesliga outfit Mainz in 2018, committing him to a four-year contract.

He’s now into the final 12 months of the deal, having scored only five goals since for Newcastle and SD Eibar, where he spent 2020/21 on loan (via Transfermarkt).

Newcastle have trimmed four players from their squad so far this summer. Andy Carroll and Henri Saivet were released, Cristian Atsu sealed a move to Al-Raed and Florian Lejune joined Alaves for an undisclosed fee.

The latest

Waugh reports that ‘NUFC are hopeful’ of arranging the forward’s exit this summer after Aris expressed ‘concrete interest’.

Newcastle ‘ideally’ want to sell Muto, but Aris’ preference is a loan move, which would see his wages split.

They’re willing to cover around 40% of his roughly £50,000-per-week salary, leaving the Magpies to make up the rest themselves. There’s ‘optimism’ on their side that a deal can be reached.

Muto returned to training on Monday, but that doesn’t herald a change of heart from the club. He has ‘no future’ at St James’ Park.

The verdict

It would be somewhat frustrating if Newcastle had to agree to a compromise here. While selling Muto probably wouldn’t have generated a big transfer fee given his contract situation and lean goal return, it would at least have cleared his substantial wages off the books.

Interest in Muto may not be plentiful, and so the Magpies may have to accept Aris’ proposal. If they were hoping to raise funds for incomings through sales, it seems they’re yet to make significant inroads.

In other news, could this midfielder arrive in addition to Willock?

Celtic are now ‘in talks’ with Shamrock Rovers over a possible move for versatile defender Liam Scales, according to The Irish Mirror’s Paul O’Hehir.

The Lowdown: Scales profiled

Scales is 22 years of age and is under contract with Rovers until the end of the 2022 season.

The Republic of Ireland under-21 international, who stands at 6 foot 3, has made 45 appearances for his current employers, two of which have come this season in Champions League qualifying.

Scales turned out as a centre-back, left-back, left-midfielder and in a defensive midfield role last season, and it appears as if the Hoops like what they see in the youngster.

After a crucial win over their Dublin arch-rivals Bohemians last term, Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley said of the youngster: “I thought Liam showed tremendous composure at times, when the ball came out he was either chesting or heading down to his teammates or taking touches.

“I thought he was really, really good. He’s been very good since he came in, he’s improving all the time. He has a real high level of ability and can keep improving.”

The Latest: Celtic in talks

According to O’Hehir, further discussions between Celtic and Shamrock Rovers were set to take place on Monday, with a number of Championship clubs in England keen on Scales.

Dermot Desmond has a 25% stake in the Irish champions, and O’Hehir’s report claimed that a deal could be completed quickly once both clubs are happy.

Celtic may have to pay a ‘significant’ six-figure fee for Scales’ services, according to the Irish Examiner’s John Fallon.

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The Verdict: A handy addition?

Scales is clearly highly regarded by a number of clubs who have shown interest, so he could be a useful signing for Celtic if they can land him.

He’s able to play in four different positions and would therefore provide cover in a number of areas in Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

You’d expect that Desmond’s association with both clubs could help a Parkhead switch to materialise, so this may well be a deal to keep a close eye on over the course of the week.

In other news: Stephen McGowan drops damning three-word update on Celtic’s pursuit of Aurelio Buta.

Fulham could be dealt a frustrating blow in their rumoured pursuit of Watford midfielder Will Hughes, according to a recent report from The Sun.

What’s the story?

Fulham had previously been credited with interest in signing the £30k-a-week earning Hughes not so long ago, but it seems as though an agreement for the Watford man will be tough to reach this summer.

The Sun have reported that Watford are believed to be keen on a deal for Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden, and with Steve Bruce’s side rumoured to be keen on a deal to sign Hughes, a potential swap could be on the cards in the near future.

That’s likely to see Fulham miss out on the potential signing of the 26-year-old, who played his part in Watford’s promotion-winning campaign last term, under the management of Xisco Munoz.

It’s a frustrating update for the Cottagers

Fulham will be looking to win promotion back into the Premier League at the first time of asking this season, after being relegated from the top-flight last term.

The Cottagers finished 18th in the Premier League standings in last year’s campaign, and will know that it’s going to be a hugely competitive Championship season coming up.

Hughes has shown that he can perform to a high standard in the second tier as well, with the midfielder having made 31 appearances in total for Xisco Munoz’s side last term, as they clinched promotion into the Premier League after a brief spell in the Championship.

Hughes had previously been on the books with Derby County, and made 189 appearances for the Rams, before making the move to Vicarage Road back in 2017.

He has gone from strength to strength with the Hornets, and will be hoping he can be playing his football at the highest possible level moving forwards.

A move to Newcastle United over Fulham is likely to be the more tempting proposition for Hughes, especially if the deal works from a Magpies perspective with Hayden potentially heading the other way.

Former Watford defender Adrian Mariappa once labelled Hughes as an ‘outstanding player’, which is a claim that plenty of the Vicarage Road faithful are likely to agree with.

“He’s an outstanding player. To see the quality he’s got, he has so much flair and a terrific player.”

Hughes averaged just shy of two tackles per game in the 2020/21 season, and with an average pass success rate of 84.1% in all competitions last term, he’s shown that he can make a positive impact both on and off the ball.

Fulham’s Harrison Reed has previously been linked with a move away from Craven Cottage, with Leeds United one of the teams reportedly eyeing a move for him, but with a formal bid not materialising at this moment in time, Fulham might not even have to continue their pursuit of Hughes this summer. However, that decision could be put out of their hands if Newcastle are to press ahead with their interest in signing the 26-year-old.

It’s a frustrating update for the Craven Cottage faithful, as Hughes could have been somewhat of a coup for Marco Silva’s side this season, with the midfielder showing that he’s more than capable of playing at a higher level than the second tier of English football.

It’s exactly why fans will be absolutely gutted with this latest update.

Adama Traore’s contract situation at Wolves is an “iffy one”, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

Traore, who joined Wolves from Middlesbrough back in the 2018 summer transfer window, has just two years remaining on his current deal.

The Spanish winger, 25, was thought to be close to putting pen to paper on a new one, with Goal reporting back in May that both parties were in talks.

However, nothing has materialised and his future now looks uncertain amid reported interest from clubs such as European champions Chelsea.

Speaking to FFC about the matter, Hatfield said:

“The contract situation’s a bit of an iffy one. We’ve heard from Wolves that they’re trying to get him down to a new deal and the kind of sounds we were hearing from Nuno when he was in charge is that that he was confident that he would sign a new deal, but we’re yet to see that.”

It leaves Wolves with a decision to make: sell now and make as much as they can or keep him and watch his value decrease as his contract runs down.

According to The Athletic, the Midlands club need to sell big if they want to spend this summer, so the former certainly looks like a strong possibility right now.

Aston Villa have now registered their interest in Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe amid a potential summer transfer move.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have claimed that the centre-back could be set for a reunion with Dean Smith, having, of course, played under the Villa boss during their time in the Championship.

And now, Football Insider have revealed that Villa have now made an approach for the defender by registering their interest in him and that they will make an official move for him if given the encouragement to do so.

It’s added that: “Smith wants a young defender with Premier League experience to provide cover and competition for first-choice duo Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa. Tuanzebe has been targeted as he fits the profile of the recruitment team and has the potential to develop.”

Fans will be buzzing

The £7.2m-rated centre-back has earned rave reviews for his performances for United last season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waxing lyrical about him after he stopped PSG and Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League.

He said: “Axel’s a tremendous defender, a great leader. He’s come through the academy and we’ve known for years that he’s going to be a top player for us and he’s got the character and the attitude that a Man United player should have. Sometimes you’ll get in a foot race with Mbappe and you have to run with him and we know Axel’s qualities, he’s a top defender.”

Given the £50k-a-week earning ace has already played under Smith, he should be able to hit the ground running, especially with his experience of Premier League football at United too.

Tuanzebe featured 35 times in his one season at Villa, including starting in the club’s Championship play-offs run that earned them promotion back to the Premier League.

Villa fans will surely be buzzing at the prospect of another, young English talent heading to Villa Park and joining the likes of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa as Smith’s impressive centre-back options, especially with Bjorn Engels’ recent departure.

Meanwhile, Villa could sign their new John Carew in this man…