Ten Hag's 'surprising' Man Utd transfer call queried amid dressing room claim

Nottingham Forest ace Steve Cook has questioned Manchester United's decision to loan out Dean Henderson - with the defender highlighting the 'huge' influence that the shot-stopper has already had on the City Ground dressing room.

Henderson became disillusioned with life at Old Trafford after failing to wrestle the No.1 spot away from David de Gea last term and was eager to leave the club this summer in a bid to play regular first-team football ahead of the upcoming 2022 World Cup.

In the wake of Henderson's desire to leave, Erik ten Hag sanctioned a season-long loan switch - and Henderson has flourished at his new club in the opening weeks of the season.

Unfortunately for Manchester United, Henderson's eye-catching performances have coincided with their poor start to the season, with De Gea himself under heavy scrutiny after making two glaring errors in last weekend's humiliating 4-0 defeat at Brentford.

And Cook has now hit out at Manchester United for deciding to offload Henderson - with the centre-half adamant that the 25-year-old is a 'huge loss' for the United dressing room at a time when they desperately need leadership.

Speaking after Saturday's 1-1 draw at Everton, Cook told The Daily Mail : "Deano is a top goalkeeper. He's come in and imposed himself on the squad. He's made saves, his distribution was very good today and his character is huge. He has added a lot to the changing room.

Join the debate! Do you think Man Utd made a mistake loaning out Henderson? Let us know here.

When Cook was asked if he was surprised United allowed the shot-stopper to leave, the Forest star added: "I can only speak of what I'm seeing and yeah, definitely. The character he's got will be a huge loss inside that dressing room but, to be honest, we are just delighted to have him with us."

Henderson was seemingly on the verge of usurping De Gea back at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, however, a bout of Covid prevented him from starting the following season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

De Gea made the most of that opportunity and enjoyed a stunning campaign but has struggled in the early days of Ten Hag's tenure. The former Atletico Madrid ace has looked uncomfortable playing out from the back as part of the Dutchman's new philosophy and was forced to apologise for his embarrassing clangers at Brentford.

The United goalkeeper admitted: "I think I cost my team three points today. It was a poor performance from myself. After the first mistake and then the second, it was very tough to be playing and it was a horrible day. Of course, we should react better but the moment we are living now is tough, every time we concede a goal. I should've saved the first shot and probably the result would be different."