Read this brilliant fan piece detailing the relationship and journey that both Rashford and Dean Henderson have been on as friends, in the road to the first-team.
FC Midtjylland was never a household name for United fans until one day, when a new star emerged against the Danish side. A young Marcus Rashford was struck with luck in the 2015 Europa League match as an overload of injuries led to his Manchester United debut.
The game that Rashford will never forget started with the reds going one-nil down at the hands of Pione Sisto, although not soon after, an own goal at the other end equalised the game for Louis van Gaal’s side.
A short while after the whistle sounded for the beginning of the second half, a cross into the box from Juan Mata turned Marcus Rashford’s lucky day into a living dream, when the teenager put United in front with a sublime finish for his first goal for his boyhood club.
The significant part of his celebration is when a familiar face was spotted in the crowd. Youth keeper Dean Henderson is there to celebrate Rashford’s first senior goal. The huge United fan was noticeably happy for his friend and teammate.
Upon scoring the second goal of his career and of the match, Rashford ran straight over to Henderson again and the pair were ecstatic with the 18-year-old’s incredible achievement. The homegrown talent became a star that night and his career received a jump start.
Since that night a lot has happened. Marcus Rashford has become a regular starter for Manchester United, under three different managers and over time he has managed to accumulate over 70 goals in 226 appearances for the club, not only that, but also received many caps for England. There’s been ups and downs for the English attacker, however, the one thing that is certain, is that he has definitely been successful since that night at Old Trafford.
What about Dean Henderson? At the time of the match against FC Midtjylland, he had just finished his first loan spell at Stockport, also at the age of 18. After the first loan spell came many more, where Henderson saw playing time across many tiers of the English football pyramid. Teams that were lucky enough to have the youngster on loan included Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury and Sheffield United respectively.
His most significant loan spell came at the South Yorkshire side, Sheffield United, where the keeper saw a breakthrough in his career. The team led by Chris Wilder were promoted from the Championship and even managed a top-half finish in the top flight, all with Henderson between the sticks. His performances proved to be impressive at Bramall Lane and caught the attention of plenty of clubs. Despite concrete interest from big clubs, his heart stuck with United and he returned to Old Trafford to fight it out for the number 1 spot with David De Gea.
Henderson wrote:
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Sheffield United for the last two years," and then went on to later say, "I'm absolutely delighted. It’s [playing for MUFC] something I’ve been working towards for a few years now.”
Henderson has only started a handful of games for United so far this season but each one has been a fairly solid display from the 23-year-old keeper.
This is where the journey comes together. It's surreal to think Marcus Rashford celebrated his first ever Manchester United goal alongside Dean Henderson, who was in the crowd. And now, nearly 6 years on, the duo started together for their boyhood club in the Champions League. What’s more, they’ve even been called up to the England squad together. The result for the game they started together wasn’t something they’ll remember but the journey they’ve taken is.
Originally published for The United Stand.
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