This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

Speaking to The Daily Mirror, Dean Henderson has insisted he still harbours hopes of playing for the Manchester United first-team in the future.

What did he say?

The 22-year-old has yet to play a game for the Red Devils' senior side, and is currently in the midst of his second season-long loan spell at fellow Premier League club Sheffield United.

The goalkeeper signed a new long-term contract at Old Trafford earlier in the summer however, but has revealed he doesn't feel like he is a United player yet, claiming that there is still a lot of work to be done before he can call himself that.

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He said: "Hopefully I can fulfil the ambition of playing for them one day and why not if I keep going the way I’m going? I still don’t believe I am a Man United player yet. I still feel I have a lot of work to do to get to that level.

"For me, it was all about getting out on loan and trying something different. I always wanted to get out there and prove myself, rather than sit in my comfort zone. There are many players who are just happy to sit there and say they are Manchester United players, but realistically you aren’t for me until you are in the first team."

Starting from the bottom

Henderson's desire to play in the lower divisions of English football like he did with clubs like Shrewsbury and Grimbsy, is a real testament to the hard-working attitude he possesses. It is certainly a mentality that bodes well for his future that he is willing to take a risk in order to better improve himself, rather than just stay in a "comfort zone" as he describes.

And with United's current number one David de Gea also signing a fresh new deal to stay at the club, Henderson will certainly have his work cut out to displace the Spain international from the number one spot at Old Trafford. But judging by his comments, that is something that will not faze him at all. Talent is always important, but hard work is always the commodity that takes you to that next level. And the Red Devils' young shot-stopper appears to have that in his locker.