England manager Gareth Southgate says Sheffield United goalkeeper Dean Henderson is close to a call up.
A regular in the Under-21s squad currently, Henderson has impressed for the Blades this season on loan from Manchester United.
Southgate has named his squad for upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers with the Czech Republic and Montenegro. Everton’s Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland of Stoke City and Burnley captain Tom Heaton are his three ‘keepers.
However, both Henderson and Southampton’s Angus Gunn are being considered.
“In terms of Angus, he’s just got into the team – so Alex McCarthy is unfortunate to be out of the team at Southampton – and Angus has got a good challenge to get in our under-21s because Dean Henderson is playing really well at Sheffield United and is also close to our squad,” Southgate was quoted by the Sheffield Star.
How does Henderson compare?
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By keeping faith with Butland, Southgate has shown that he’s not afraid to select players from the Championship.
Yet how does Henderson match up to those others looking for a place between the sticks for the Three Lions?
Here is how Whoscored rank England’s current options, with a few other potentials thrown in as well:
- Angus Gunn, Southampton: Appearances: 5, Clean sheets: 2, Rating: 7.00, MOTM 1
- Ben Foster, Watford: Appearances: 30, Clean sheets: 7, Rating: 6.78, MOTM 1
- Sam Johnstone, Aston Villa: Appearances: 37, Clean sheets: 6, Rating: 6.74, MOTM 2
- Jack Butland, Stoke City: Appearances: 37, Clean sheets: 14, Rating: 6.73, MOTM 2
- Tom Heaton, Burnley: Appearances: 11, Clean sheets: 2, Rating: 6.70, MOTM 0
- Joe Hart, Burnley: Appearances: 19, Clean sheets: 4, Rating: 6.68, MOTM 0
- Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Leeds United: Appearances: 27, Clean sheets: 10, Rating: 6.60, MOTM 1
- Dean Henderson, Sheffield United: Appearances: 37, Clean sheets: 16, Rating: 6.58, MOTM 0
- Alex McCarthy, Southampton: Appearances: 25, Clean sheets: 4, Rating: 6.58, MOTM 1
- Jordan Pickford, Everton: Appearances: 30, Clean sheets: 8, Rating: 6.44, MOTM 2
Henderson is quite far down the list in terms of rating, behind the currently selected Butland and Heaton. His rival for a place, Gunn, tops the list.
However, for the likes of Gunn, Heaton and even Joe Hart, their sample size of games played is much smaller. One outstanding performance can skew the stats.
Also, Henderson impressively tops the amount of clean sheets kept with 16. If the 21-year-old were called up by Southgate no United fans would be at all surprised.