Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag issued a rallying cry to Dean Henderson this week after the Reds' penultimate US tour fixture against Real Madrid.
"We have a group of keepers and, as everyone else, you have to fight for your position," he told reporters. "I think that's normal when you're at United.
"And he (Henderson) is a good goalie, he has to fight and we have to see when he can return to team training." However, even when uttering those words, Ten Hag will already have known exactly where Henderson's heart lies.
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The England goalkeeper made his feelings crystal clear last summer when he joined Nottingham Forest on loan. He told talkSPORT: "I didn't want the manager to come in and be able to see me in training.
"I knew he'd probably want to keep me, so I tried to do it all before I left for the season. I told all the hierarchy I need to go and play football, I don't want to be here playing second fiddle.
"It was all planned out. I was almost gone before the manager came through the door and I haven't spoken to him since. To be honest with you, it's probably been the toughest 12 months of my career."
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Instead of attempting to seize the opportunity last season, when Ten Hag's patience with No.1 David de Gea was beginning to wear thin, Henderson took the chance to move away from United to guarantee himself playing time. This is of course the 26-year-old's prerogative but this decision clearly showed he was unwilling to fight for his place at Old Trafford even when the chance of performing for a new manager was on the table.
With Ten Hag now open to a loan-to-buy agreement with Forest this summer, clearly the wedge between United and Henderson is irreconcilable.
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