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