Dean Henderson received his first call-up to the senior England squad this past week and the stats show he’s one of the Premier League’s most in-form goalkeepers.
The Manchester United loanee has faced 30 shots in league fixtures for Sheffield United this season and conceded just seven goals.
Dean Henderson stats are second-best in Premier League
To contrast, United’s own shot-stopper David de Gea has conceded eight from the same number of shots. Of course, those stats are far too basic. Twitter use Paul Riley (@footballfactman) has compiled the Expected Goals Conceded of every Premier League goalkeeper to show Henderson’s quality.
According to Riley’s statistical breakdown, Henderson has the second-highest rating of any goalkeeper in England’s top division this campaign. The Expected Goals Conceded suggest that Henderson should have seen more than nine goals fly into his net. The real figure is seven.
Henderson bounces back from Liverpool error
It’s a controversial use of stats. Many aren’t fans of xG or xGC but it has some benefit over the course of a number of games. Of course, there are parts of the game that it does not take into account.
Importantly, though, it shows Henderson’s quality in spite of a high-profile howler against Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. While receiving the support from fans of United and his loan club, there was a lot of criticism from opposition fans. Peter Schmeichel weighed in on the matter as well, sending a message to Henderson via Twitter.
Henderson is an outspoken and passionate player who can come across as arrogant. That’s the same for many successful goalkeepers. It means that fans pounce on any opportunity to criticise him.
He’s shown a good mentality to bounce back from that unexplainable error. It was a good performance against Watford to earn a point for Chris Wilder’s newly-promoted side.
Henderson signed a new contract at United in the summer before immediately heading back to Sheffield on loan. There are high hopes for the young Englishman. It seems likely assurances have been given that Henderson will be allowed to challenge De Gea’s spot in the future.
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