‘I skipped Man Utd training – if the boss saw me I knew I wouldn’t get my transfer'

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Dean Henderson felt he had no choice but to steer clear of Erik ten Hag so he'd get to leave Manchester United . The Crystal Palace shot-stopper joined United's academy in 2011 aged 14, ultimately departing for good 12 years later with his 2023 switch to the Eagles .

Henderson, 28, experienced his breakthrough campaign at Old Trafford during the 2020/21 season, where he featured 26 times across all competitions under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer .

Nevertheless, he managed only three outings the subsequent season as United cycled through three managers, with Solskjaer being dismissed then Michael Carrick receiving the caretaker position before Ralf Rangnick's interim appointment.

Following his season-long loan move to Nottingham Forest for the 2022/23 campaign, Henderson revealed details about the distressing season he endured at United, accusing the club of broken promises .

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Speaking to talkSPORT, Henderson said: "To be quite honest with you, it's probably been the toughest 12 months of my career. It's been tough, it's been hard and I'm so happy I've come out the other end of it now.

"The conversation I had, coming out of the Euros squad [with England], was that you're coming back here [to United] to be the No 1 goalkeeper. I got Covid, then unfortunately no-one followed through with anything they told me."

He said the circumstances were "criminal" as he turned down loan opportunities in pursuit of establishing himself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper. He continued: "It's frustrating as well, because I turned so many good loans down last summer for that reason and they wouldn't let me go.

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"To sit there and waste 12 months is criminal, really, at my age. I was fuming." Before his switch to the City Ground, Henderson deliberately avoided speaking to or working under Ten Hag, who took charge as United manager in the summer of 2022, in a bid to engineer a departure from Manchester.

The England shot-stopper revealed: "No. I didn't want him to see me in training. Because I knew that he probably wanted to keep me. So I told the hierarchy that I need to play football, I don't want to be here and play second fiddle."

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Following his exit from United, he's secured an FA Cup triumph and been appointed Palace skipper after Marc Guehi's transfer to Manchester City in January. Despite the turbulence he encountered with his previous employers, he acknowledged upon departing it had been a "dream come true" to have worn the Red Devils' colours.

He told MUTV : "It's a dream come true to have pulled on the shirt and played at Old Trafford, in European competitions, in FA Cups, Carabaos and, most importantly, the Premier League .

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