By Sam Preston

Rangnick praises Henderson and Heaton after United’s 1-1 Young Boys draw

Ralf Rangnick gave Dean Henderson just his Manchester United start of the season in the 1-1 draw with Young Boys last night.

Henderson was beaten by a stunning strike from outside the box by Fabian Rieder but Rangnick told his post-match press conference he was happy with Henderson’s overall display.

Rangnick also brought Tom Heaton off the bench in the second half for what was his Manchester United debut in his second spell at the club.

There was also praise for Heaton, as Rangnick said he had been brought up to speed about the Englishman’s career since his arrival at Old Trafford.

“He almost even saved the equaliser,” said Rangnick when asked about Henderson’s performance. “He was one or two centimetres away. It was a very difficult one.

“Apart from that, he was very proactive, very present. The same is true with Tom Heaton, his debut at the age of 35.

“I wasn’t aware of that but we decided yesterday if at all possible we wanted to give him his debut. I didn’t know that he had been playing in England for such a long time and even for the national team.

“Richard [Hartis], our goalkeeper coach, told me that. He is a fantastic person, a very good goalkeeper and he more than deserves that opportunity at the age of 35.”

The goalkeeping situation may come to a head in January, especially if Henderson really pushes to go on loan.

Ajax are the latest club to be linked with the England international, who has been forced to be patient this season because of the form of David de Gea.

If Henderson goes, Heaton is more than capable of deputising as a number two, and could see more gametime come his way.

Heaton has clearly already made an impact on Rangnick, who has also said he does not see fourth choice stopper Lee Grant as a first team option at the moment.

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Sam Preston

Sam Preston is an NCTJ gold standard news and sports journalist who studied with the Press Association. He also has a 2:1 law with French law degree from the University of Birmingham, which included a year studying at Bordeaux Montaigne University. He is an FA Level 1 football coach who appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018 and has also written digital football content and match-day programme pieces for Colchester United, Mansfield Town and Stockport County.