Sheffield United lauded for Man Utd player agreement - he was better than Paddy Kenny | OneFootball

Dean Henderson's career has gone from strength-to-strength after two loan stints with the Blades

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield United have been blessed with many great players and future stars over the course of their rich history, with many recent examples certainly springing to mind in the eyes of many Blades.

Despite the recent heartbreak endured by the Bramall Lane faithful in the 2024/25 Championship play-off final, recent history still points towards it being a remarkable period in this part of the Steel City, with the club being completely transformed in less than a decade after Chris Wilder initially returned to his boyhood club for the first of three eventual spells as manager with the club stuck in League One.

Within two years, United would return to the Premier League for the first time in 12 years and go on to finish ninth in their first season back in the top flight since the days of Neil Warnock.

Unsurprisingly, many figures who donned the famous red and white throughout the aforementioned timeframe are held in extremely high regard, or in some cases, legendary status, for their contributions to the cause.

As Wilder has referenced in subsequent spells, the finances which were eventually plugged into the club's coffers by ownership groups or the Premier League were as a result of three seasons' worth of progressing the club from the third tier and selling homegrown talents such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Che Adams.

Such funds were reinvested into the playing squad with high-profile additions such as John Egan, who cost £4m from Brentford in a then-club-record deal.

However, many would argue that the loan agreement with Manchester United for Dean Henderson was just as pivotal, which is a viewpoint certainly held by FLW's Blades fan pundit and host of the Blades Ramble, Jimmy.

Dean Henderson named as "best" Sheffield United goalkeeper amid Paddy Kenny comparison

Henderson's initial loan move from Old Trafford to South Yorkshire came as a 21-year-old, fresh off an agonising defeat to Rotherham United in the League One play-off final during a stint with Shrewsbury Town.

In what was his first taste of Championship football, the Whitehaven native struggled for form at first, keeping just three clean sheets in his opening 10 appearances, before eventually recording a remarkable tally of 21 shutouts as an ever-present, winning the division's 'Golden Glove' in the process.

After returning to the Premier League, Wilder was able to convince the 20-time champions into agreeing a second loan stint, where Henderson accrued a further 13 clean sheets in 36 Premier League appearances, before returning to Old Trafford at the end of the 2019/20 season.

Speaking to FLW, Jimmy drew comparisons between the three-time England international and Blades stalwart, Paddy Kenny, who made 318 appearances for the club between 2002 and 2010, but still believes Henderson was a better shot-stopper.

"Dean Henderson. They say 'never fall in love with a loan player', too late. Already happened," he said.

"The fanbase took to Dean Henderson like we've taken to no loanee before, certainly not in recent memory.

"A lot of Blades will tell you, certainly younger ones, he's the best goalkeeper we've had," Jimmy claimed.

"That says a lot when fans would usually look back and pick one of their own, even if they weren't quite at the same level, such as Paddy Kenny or Alan Kelly.

"If we're being honest, the best player I've ever seen in our goal was Dean Henderson," he added. "He bought into everything about the club.

"He had a mistake in him, and still does. But, he's a top goalkeeper and really fondly thought of by the Sheffield United fanbase."

Sheffield United supporters will have followed Dean Henderson's career with immense pride

Despite it not being the first club he enjoyed loan spells at, it's fair to say that the current Crystal Palace shot-stopper enjoyed his major breakthrough with the Blades.

As Jimmy alluded to, it is high praise indeed that Henderson is thought of as being a far superior United player to the likes of Kenny and Kelly, who are cult heroes in their own right.

As such, Blades fans have followed his career path extremely closely, and will have, no doubt, been made up for the Cumbrian when he helped the Eagles secure the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in May 2025, where he denied Omar Marmoush from the penalty spot to keep Oliver Glasner's side in the lead.

Many would argue he deserves to have more than three England caps. However, it is increasingly difficult for any figure to nudge their way past the ever-reliable Jordan Pickford at present, with Henderson continuing to, at least, showcase his talent for Palace on the domestic and continental stage as they currently feature in the UEFA Europa Conference League.