Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has refused to be drawn on comments made by loanee goalkeeper Dean Henderson about Manchester United but has backed the England international ahead of the Premier League season starting this weekend.
The 25-year-old blasted his parent club for "wasting" a year of his career by having him on the bench to backup David De Gea at Old Trafford last season. Henderson made just four appearances across all competitions for Man United during the campaign.
Five appearances throughout this summer's pre-season friendlies have already seen the goalkeeper surpass that tally with the Reds, and plenty more are expected to be in store once the Premier League gets underway. Cooper already can't speak highly enough of his number one.
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"I’m not going to make a comment about loan players' parent clubs unless it really affects us," Cooper said at his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "I can only speak about Dean since he’s come through the door.
"First and foremost, it will be about how the season goes for him, how he plays and how we do as a team. So far, he’s been brilliant; he’s really embraced the football club.
"When I first met him, I was really impressed with how much he knew about the club and how much he wanted to come, so he’s been excellent so far. We know we haven’t started yet at the business end, but as a first impression goes, he’s really embraced how we try and play and how we try and coach and train.
"Obviously always a bit different with the goalkeepers as well because they do their own stuff as well as the team stuff, and we’re really, really pleased he’s with us, and I know he really wants to be here. So far, so good, but as I said, business starts on Saturday, and that’s when we’re all going to get judged."
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