Nottingham Forest could now face ‘incredible’ player they wanted to sign this summer

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Nottingham Forest tried desperately to sign Dean Henderson during the summer transfer window – and then turned their attention to Sam Johnstone in January.

Now, both stoppers are at Crystal Palace who face Forest at the weekend. For Henderson, it will bring back some fond memories as he played a part in keeping the Reds in the Premier League.

Following Brice Samba’s decision to return to France after helping Forest to promotion, the Reds turned to Henderson. He was ever-present for the team but suffered a season-ending injury in January.

Henderson was sought by Forest again in the summer and at one stage it looked as though a deal was struck. However, much like they did with James Garner, Manchester United did Forest a little bit dirty over Henderson.

Forest had to get a goalkeeper sorted and ultimately, the club signed Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos instead.

Now, some news has developed that impacts Forest ahead of their game at home against Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend.

Dean Henderson in line to play against Nottingham Forest

It had looked as though Forest would get a glimpse of what they almost signed in the January transfer window on Saturday. Johnstone has been the number one but disaster has struck for him.

The man Forest wanted to strengthen their goalkeeping department has injured his elbow on England duty. This morning, Daily Mail journalist Sami Mokbel has claimed that he’s fighting a losing battle to play again this season.

With that in mind, Henderson will almost certainly get the nod to play for Palace this weekend at the City Ground. He’s not featured since February when the Eagles were beaten at Selhurst Park by Chelsea.

It will be the first time that Forest have played since their four-point deduction. As a result, the City Ground atmosphere is likely to increase ten-fold with a victory badly needed.

Forest can’t afford sentiment against Palace

The 27-year-old made 20 appearances for Forest last season but Henderson is a Palace player now. With that in mind, the Reds must treat him like any other opposition player once that whistle goes on Saturday.

It’s such a shame that Forest couldn’t get a deal for Henderson over the line in the summer. United kept holding out and by the time they landed their own number two, the Reds had already got their new goalkeeper.

Turner and Vlachodimos have now both been shoved aside for Matz Sels. He saved a penalty on Saturday as Belgium drew with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

The 32-year-old has made a decent start to life at Forest but things might have been so much different had the Reds managed to do a deal for Henderson instead.

Given his age, he could have been the number one at Forest for a good five years, if not longer. He was worshipped by the fans and Antonio Conte has called him ‘incredible’ previously.

Forest have zero time for sentiment in their quest for Premier League survival. With that in mind, here’s hoping that Henderson enjoys a thoroughly unhappy return to the Palace starting eleven at Forest on Saturday.