Forget His Liverpool Blunder; Dean Henderson Deserves His England Call-Up

From David Seaman getting lobbed by Ronaldinho in 2002 to Scott Carson's mistake against Croatia in 2008 or Rob Green letting Clint Dempsey's tame shot through his fingers at the 2010 World Cup, England's goalkeepers seem to be almost synonymous with calamitous errors.

So when Sheffield United's Dean Henderson fumbled a tame shot from Liverpool's Gini Wijnaldum two weeks ago, there were probably some fans sarcastically saying that he looks like a future England goalkeeper.

His manager Chris Wilder said that he would imagine that England boss Gareth Southgate would "look at the bigger picture", and that picture suggests Henderson's call-up to replace the injured Tom Heaton is well-deserved.

Henderson reacted to his Liverpool howler by producing a top-class performance against Watford last week, making several key saves including one in stoppage-time to give his side a clean sheet.

Sheffield United's defense has been making headlines at the other end of the pitch this season, with center-backs Jack O'Connell and Chris Basham often getting forward to overwhelm the opposition's backline. But at the same time, the Blades have let in just seven Premier League goals. Only Liverpool have conceded fewer.

That's an impressive feat for any team, but Sheffield United haven't really been parking the bus that much this season. They have been good at the back, but five teams have conceded fewer shots than them, and they have the biggest difference between expected goals conceded and actual goals conceded of any team in the league. Part of the reason for that difference is their goalkeeper.

It was a similar story last season, when Sheffield United conceded the joint fewest goals in the Championship. They let in 41 goals in 46 games in that campaign, with Middlesbrough, who played the most defensive soccer in the league, being the only other team to let in fewer than 50 goals. Henderson's performances last season were so good that he was close to an England call-up despite playing in the Championship.

Dean Henderson won the Golden Glove that year, and was in the PFA Team of the Year in 2017-18 as well as winning several individual awards from Sheffield United. Not bad for a player who is only 22. If Henderson keeps improving, then he could be the long-term replacement for David de Gea at his parent club Manchester United.

Henderson is one of several young players who have been called up by Gareth Southgate for England's matches against Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Chelsea's Fikayo Tomori is another player who could earn his first England cap this international break. Tomori and Henderson were part of the England Under-20 side that won the 2017 Under-20 World Cup.

While Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, currently on loan at Swansea City, was the hero of that tournament, saving a penalty in the final, Henderson's one appearance in the tournament will be remembered for how he was lobbed from the halfway line against Guinea. But the player who lobbed him was England's Fikayo Tomori who was attempting a no-look backpass.

England fans will be hoping that Tomori doesn't try the same trick in these international fixtures. For Henderson, hopefully he has now already got his obligatory England calamity out of the way.