5 contenders for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award | Premier League 2019-20

#2 Dean Henderson

Dean Henderson has kept 10 clean sheets in the current campaign

Sheffield United have undoubtedly been the Premier League’s surprise package this season; the Blades currently sit in 7th – with a game in hand on their rivals – and are in with a very real shout of securing Champions League football next season. Even more surprising though is the fact that Chris Wilder’s team have the second-tightest defence in the league – behind only top-of-the-table Liverpool – which is unheard of for a promoted side.

Part of their defensive success has been the form of goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who is on loan from Manchester United. The 22-year old has been in imperious form throughout the season, with a mature head on his shoulders that makes him come across like a battle-hardened veteran rather than a young kid in his debut Premier League season.

Henderson has made 27 appearances in the current campaign, and has kept 10 clean sheets, conceding just 22 goals in the process. Along the way, he’s made a total of 70 saves, and has made just one major error that led to a goal – a lapse in concentration that saw him let Georginio Wijnaldum’s shot go right through him in the Blades’ loss to Liverpool.

The England U-21 international isn’t quite the finished article yet; his abilities with the ball at his feet and his range of passing could both be better, but realistically, a goalkeeper’s primary job is to stop goals from being conceded, and essentially, no keeper in 2019-20 has done that better than Henderson.