Asked how he, his wife, and his one-year-old son are settling in London, 18 months after relocating to the capital, Dean Henderson admits in a half-hushed tone: “Last year was probably the hardest year of my life.”
The next could prove one of the most consequential if he can convince Thomas Tuchel he should start for England at the 2026 World Cup.
But whatever he stands to gain, the last year has been one marred by personal loss. Two weeks before he joined Crystal Palace from Manchester United in August 2023, Henderson became a father to his son. The day before he signed, Dougie, his own father, was diagnosed with cancer.
“I went away to Euro 2024 knowing he was dying,” the 27-year-old goalkeeper tells Standard Sport. “Before I joined up with the England camp, I went for coffee with him. He was looking slim.
“I was going away for potentially six weeks, knowing it was going to happen at some stage - but I didn’t think it would happen that quick.
“I received a text off my brother before the semi-final with Holland, saying: ‘Look, I think you need to get on a plane and come and see him, it’ll be the last time.’ I spoke to Dad on the phone. He was adamant: ‘Stay there, bring me the medal, I’ll wait for you’. And he waited for me. As soon as I got back, that was it.”
Six days after returning from Euros heartbreak with England, Henderson’s father passed away aged 57. Then, in October, his friend and former Sheffield United team-mate George Baldock, 31, drowned in his swimming pool at home in Athens.
Henderson’s Palace debut in September 2023 was a return to his former home, Old Trafford, in the Carabao Cup and a return from a nine-month hamstring injury. He lasted 19 minutes before the same muscle gave way. Cue nine more weeks out.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he says, believing it.
His goalkeeper gloves are perched on his lap as he sits beside the pool table in the games room at Palace’s Copers Cope Road training ground,
Henderson thinks now of the runners-up medal he brought back from Germany for his late father.
“It’s just a shame the medal couldn’t be gold, but I’m sure it can be in the future.”
England opening?
The tides have changed at the national team, where Tuchel first takes to the Wembley dugout next month, hired on an 18-month contract by the FA with a view to ensuring England’s men win something now, not later.
Quite how much change is afoot remains to be seen, but having won the race to become the Eagles’ No1, Henderson believes he can take that status off Jordan Pickford for England.
“Off this season’s form, it’s neck and neck. I don’t think there’s anything in it.”
Pickford has played 73 times for England, Henderson just twice. He is “very disappointed” with his tally of caps but says of “serial winner” Tuchel’s appointment: “It’s incredibly exciting, as open as it has been for four or five years. I know they’re constantly watching everyone. It’ll be interesting to see his first squad.”
The pool of goalkeepers available to Tuchel is limited by Sam Johnstone - who joined Wolves when Henderson supplanted him as Palace No1 - and Newcastle’s Nick Pope not playing regularly.
“Rammers [Aaron Ramsdale] took a risky move going to Southampton,” Henderson says. “It’s a very brave move. That shows great character. James Trafford struggled a lot last season but is reaping the rewards for staying at Burnley. He’s one to watch.
“Jordan has done fantastically for this country and I’ve got huge respect for that, but obviously I’m ready to go.”
Peering into view is next summer’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, where England will be among the favourites.
“It gets my juices flowing,” Henderson interrupts, his eyes sharp with focus. “Sometimes at night I think about having some big moments in that. Let’s see.”
Glasner’s impact
Henderson can point to big moments in 11 months as Palace’s undisputed No1.
He scoped out Palace before joining by chatting on the phone with Johnstone, who had flown out to his Rome wedding in 2022. A sustained run in the team arrived after Johnstone injured his elbow last March. Once back fit, the 31-year-old couldn’t dislodge Henderson and ultimately pushed for an exit to Wolves in August. Previously close friends, they no longer speak. This is a cut-throat business.
Henderson has kept clean sheets in wins at Anfield and Old Trafford and hasn’t conceded a goal in any of Palace’s past five away league games.
He says with fervour that “special things” are brewing at Palace, where he is closest with his goalkeeper coach, Dean Kiely.
They could reach the FA Cup sixth round for the first time since 2018-19 if they oust Millwall on Saturday.
“The start of the season peeves me off, we left ourselves a lot to do,” he admits, reflecting on a record of one league win heading into December that was a far cry from their barnstorming run-in last season.
“Certain players had long summers and took a while to get up to speed. We lost some key players [notably, Michael Olise], so it was a slow burner. The stats were crazy; we were battering teams but the ball wouldn’t go in.
“But the gaffer adds this little layer and that little layer from game to game. We’ve got a good group, no egos. That’s the culture he’s bred.”
Henderson is certain Oliver Glasner is “the best” manager he’s had. “It’s so interesting: when we were losing, he didn’t batter us, didn’t ‘mistreat the dog’. The more you win, the more he demands. He’s just such a good manager.” The Austrian is relentless in his pursuit of perfection.
So, too, Henderson. Does he feel he is playing the best football of his career?
“No, I don’t. I’ve got a lot more to come. A hell of a lot more. This is my first full season in probably four years, and I’m cherishing it and getting back to where I was.”
The ceiling for what can be achieved under Glasner? “I genuinely don’t think there is one.”
‘Forever indebted to Dad’
It is with pride that Henderson reflects on his Cumbrian roots.
A once-talented wicketkeeper, he grew up playing football with his two brothers in Whitehaven and joined Carlisle as a striker, before leaving the family home to join Manchester United’s academy as a goalkeeper aged 14.
Without his parents, Yvonne and the late Dougie, “it would have been impossible” to succeed in football.
“If they had to drive four hours just to support me, they would. I told him before he went I’ll always be indebted to him for that.
“I’ve fought phenomenally hard, especially given where I’m from. When you leave home at 14, you sacrifice your friendships, you land in the unknown to take responsibility to chase a dream.” He says of those who don’t make it: “My heart breaks for them.”
Henderson “fought hard” to leave United on loan for “unbelievable experiences” at first-team level, representing Stockport, Grimsby, Shrewsbury, and then Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest in the top flight.
“There was no chance I’d break into that first team; David [de Gea] was doing so well. I manifested it so many times growing up. I knew I was destined for that team. I took the leap of faith, went out, and came back to United a first-team player.
“When you set out on that journey, it’s a lonely place as a goalkeeper. Every team I played for were better for having me, which I don’t think is a coincidence. I stand by that. I went back and fulfilled that dream.”
Henderson insists he was given assurances after the delayed Euro 2020 that he would become United No1, but that the club did not follow through once he’d recovered from long Covid.
“I signed here to be the No1,” he says. “Palace made it clear to me and I made it clear to them. They followed through. I want to really leave a mark on the Crystal Palace goalkeeping department for years to come.”
Henderson speaks with intensity and freely admits: “I really struggle to switch off; 24/7 in my head is football. Apart from that, I just roll around on the floor with the little man. The last year, it has really hit home how important family life is.”
