Nottingham Forest decided not to sign Dean Henderson this summer, with doubts over his fitness. The goalkeeper was on loan at the City Ground last season, making 20 appearances.
According to The Athletic, Forest did have Henderson on their shortlist at the start of the summer. However, some reservations came from the club over his thigh injury.
Henderson hasn’t played a game since January. He tore his thigh taking a goal-kick against Leicester and the injury meant he needed surgery to repair the muscle.
Forest were uncertain about the severity of the problem. They did their due diligence and weren’t convinced that the player would even come through a rigorous medical examination.
Henderson has now signed for Crystal Palace on a permanent deal. He was signed from Manchester United for £15 million plus a number of add-ons, with Forest signing Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos instead.
MORE FOREST STORIES
Henderson is a decent addition to the Palace ranks. With Sam Johnstone starting the season well, however, it’s not certain that he’s going to be the number one during 2023/24.
The player has been praised in the past. Sander Berge called him ‘insane’ when the pair played together at Sheffield United earlier in his career.
Report explains why Forest didn’t sign Henderson
Although somewhat disappointing, Forest probably made the right call by choosing not to sign Henderson. Losing him through injury again would have hurt the team and they do now have two very useful goalkeepers.
At 26-years-old, the one-time England player would have been a decent investment for the future. Now, however, Forest can look forward to life with Turner and Vlachodimos keeping goal.
Henderson bought into the ethos of what playing for Forest is all about. He kicked every ball from the stands when he was injured and he clearly would have welcomed a return to the City Ground.
Forest had to make a judgment call. They needed goalkeepers to come in and start instantly making claims for a place and as a result, they perhaps made the best decision for business with regard to Henderson.