Nottingham Forest are still waiting to make their first summer signing as preparations step up for the 2023/24 Premier League season.
The Reds reported for duty at the Nigel Doughty Academy this week. But aside from some players returning from loan spells, no new faces could be spotted among the group.
Forest have a number of areas which require strengthening during the transfer window. Chief among them is bringing in a No.1, with Dean Henderson a priority target after last term's impressive loan spell.
It is a deal which is taking time to get done, however. Here's a rundown of the state of play and how the saga has panned out so far.
READ MORE: Inside Nottingham Forest's pre-season training as Omar Richards returns and loanees feature
READ MORE: Scarpa, Surridge, signings - Forest transfer questions answered amid exit talk
United's stance
Manchester United will hold talks with Dean Henderson before making a decision on his future, it is said.
The Manchester Evening News report that United boss Erik ten Hag will ask Henderson if he wants to stay at Old Trafford or leave this summer. However, even if Henderson expresses a desire to leave, Ten Hag is “unlikely” to sanction his sale until the goalkeeper situation at Old Trafford is resolved.
And that means Forest could end up playing a long waiting game because United currently do not have a No 1 goalkeeper, with David de Gea’s contract having expired with no agreement in place for a new deal and talk of Ten Hag targeting Inter Milan’s Andre Onana in a £40m move to be his new first choice goalkeeper.
In a further update, Henderson is said to still be recovering from the thigh injury he suffered in January during his loan at Forest, and so won’t feature in United’s first pre-season friendly, against Leeds, next week. According to The Times, is 'unlikely' that he will join their pre-season tour of the United States, which begins on July 20.
Henderson's stance
Henderson himself is said to be 'convinced' that a permanent move to the City Ground will go ahead this summer, according to the Manchester Evening News. The goalkeeper is also said to be 'perplexed by suggestions that he could stay at Old Trafford beyond the summer.
However, patience could be needed for the deal with David De Gea's contract situation at the club possibly delaying Henderson's departure from the City Ground. The Spaniard is out of contract this summer and is yet to agree a new deal.
Onana saga
Once United have got their goalkeeper targets in the building, they will then allow Henderson to leave, it is understood. They are embroiled in a transfer saga that has been drawn out even further, which in turn will extend Forest's wait for Henderson.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, United made a €50million offer to Inter Milan for Andre Onana, an offer that has been knocked back. It is said the clubs 'remain locked in negotiations', and another €5million could be enough to seal the deal.
Potential fee
According to the Daily Mail a transfer that will see Henderson move to Forest in the summer has been 'lined up' if David De Gea signs a new deal at Old Trafford. That is however something that is far from certain.
The fee is said to see Forest pay United £15 million, plus add-ons. Henderson is named as 'an option' to take the number one shirt at Old Trafford if De Gea does leave, but United are also said to want a new goalkeeper this summer, which will again free up Henderson to make the move permanent.
What Cooper has said
Henderson has been sidelined since January with a thigh injury which eventually required surgery. He continued to attend Forest games, however, including the final-day trip to Crystal Palace. At Selhurst Park, he had dispatched with the crutches which he had waved around in celebration a week earlier after the Reds secured survival with victory over Arsenal.
Reds head coach Steve Cooper has praised the level of commitment the 26-year-old continued to show towards his loan club while out of action. But the Welshman has been coy about the shot-stopper’s future.
Asked whether he envisaged working with Henderson again, he said before the end of the season: “Hard to say. I have enjoyed working with him, we have all enjoyed Dean and the personality he is.
“What supporters mainly see is when he has been in goal for us, but there is more to him than that. He is a real good professional, he really cares, he has a fantastic mentality of winning and wanting to be the best.
“We have really enjoyed working with him and we are grateful for what he has given us, and what he will continue to give us, because I’m sure he will still be around and quite visible. “With Dean, he is on loan from Manchester United but he really bought into the football club and even the city, moving here and making it a permanent base for the loan. He showed he really wanted to be part of it, on and off the pitch. We have had great commitment from Dean, even when he hasn't been available in the last few months.”
Clarity sought
It has been suggested the Reds "do not want" to pay upwards of £25m for Henderson, a fee previously quoted.
According to The Athletic, Forest "can match" Henderson's United wages once they agree a fee. They say a transfer "could be wrapped up quickly" once United have certainty on De Gea's future, but they are likely to want to lower the proposed fee. It is said clarity is needed over De Gea, with his future needing to be resolved before anything can be sorted with Henderson.
‘Wants to stay’
Henderson has clearly enjoyed his time Trentside. He is a popular member of the squad, as well as with supporters. After he had surgery, he posted on Instagram about how he would be “supporting the boys for the remainder of the season”. He added: “Let’s go YOU Reds.” And after Forest clinched safety, he posed a picture of the team in the changing room with the caption: “We did it!! Togetherness.”
BT Sport and BBC Radio Five Live broadcaster Darren Fletcher joined the squad for post-match celebrations after the victory over Arsenal. He told the Garibaldi Red podcast: "He (Henderson) was in The Parlour at 2am on the same crutches! He decided to stay for the night with his team-mates. "He'd very much like to be a Forest player next season. If he can have his wish next season that's what he'd like to do."
Henderson's thoughts
Henderson did very little media during his spell at the City Ground, but last August he blasted his parent club for wasting a year of his career. He claimed United went back on a promise that he would be the first-choice keeper, instead leaving him kicking his heels in the reserves.
"To be honest, it has been the toughest 12 months of my career. It's been hard and I am so glad I got out the other side of it," he said at the time.
"The conversation I had with United after the Euros was that I was going back to Old Trafford to be number one. I got coronavirus and when I came back I should have still been number one.
"But nobody followed through with what they told me. It was frustrating as well because I turned down so many good loans last summer. It's criminal at my age, I wasted 12 months. I was fuming. I worked hard off the pitch and on the training pitch to keep myself improving day in and day out. I'm now looking forward to a good season with Forest."
So did Henderson have to convince the new manager Erik Ten Haag to let him leave? He replied: "I didn't speak to him, I didn't even want him to see me in training because I knew he would probably want to keep me.
"I tried to do it all before the season finished. I told the hierarchy I want to play football, I don't want to be here playing second fiddle. That was how it was panned out and it was sorted before he came through the door. I haven't spoken to him since."
Transfer plans
Cooper is keen to ensure he has the right blend of youth and experience next term. And he knows there are some key positions to address in the transfer window - goalkeeper chief among them.
Both Henderson and Keylor Navas, who arrived in January following Henderson’s injury, were on loan. Jordan Smith’s contract is coming to an end and he seems likely to leave, while Luton Town have previously indicated they hold an option to make Ethan Horvath a permanent signing. The latter was first-choice between the posts for the Hatters and helped them clinch promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs. Wayne Hennessey, meanwhile, is under contract until 2024.
"I think there will be more normal numbers,” Cooper has said of the transfer window. There will be a natural process of assessment at the end of the season of where you think you're at and how you improve. This season has been completely unique; we've done something that's never been done before. We’ve done it and have allowed ourselves to stay in the Premier League and the opportunity to grow, and now it's a little bit different to last year and a bit more normal.
“But some of the key players for us this year were loans (in Navas, Henderson and Renan Lodi) and in key positions, so there’s some obvious areas that will be part of the progression. But then there’s other little projects throughout the team, with players like Morgan (Gibbs-White), Brennan (Johnson), Neco (Williams) and Danilo, young players who have had regular Premier League games for the first time. We have to think about how we grow them next year and how they can keep improving.
“It is good going into the summer knowing you can plan. Of course you need to make some changes and you want to grow, but I also know I can think about a lot of the boys we've worked with this year who we are going to work with next year and how we see their progression and their programmes looking.”
