Pundit says Sheffield United player is as good as Liverpool star

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Sheffield United have the second best defensive record in the Premier League, with Dean Henderson excelling.

Sheffield United star Dean Henderson is among the best goalkeepers in the Premier League at present and every bit as talented as Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, according to former top-flight shot-stopper Richard Lee.

While few will be surprised to see a table-topping side with Brazil’s number one between the sticks boasting the best defensive record in the division, few might have expected Sheffield United to be running Liverpool so closely.

With just 25 goals conceded in 27 games, the Blades’ brilliant back line has underpinned their shock push for a European place with Henderson shining in his debut Premier League season.

The £30 million-rated Manchester United loanee has produced a series of virtuoso displays with his cat-like reflexes and supreme self-confidence leading to calls for him to replace Jordan Pickford as England’s first-choice ahead of Euro 2020.

And Lee, who played top-flight football for Watford before moving to Brentford, believes there is very little to separate two outstanding glovesmen.

“He’s still got a few technical flaws that he will work on no doubt, but in terms of his mentality, he is beyond doubt for me,” Lee told Love Sport Radio. “I would say number one in the Premier League, up there with Allison.

“I think he’s so confident in himself in so many different areas. He will go on to play a lot of games for England and I think he knows that now.

“Whether he’s ready for United next year, he probably needs one more year. But if it’s a decision as to whether it’s De Gea or Henderson, if they can move De Gea on this summer for a large amount of money and bring in Henderson and maybe use that money elsewhere in the squad. I think from a business sense that’s not the worst idea.”

Henderson has comfortably outshone the man ahead of him in the United pecking order this season, with De Gea making another high-profile error to gift Dominic Calvert-Lewin a goal in Sunday’s 1-1 draw away at Everton.

But, if former Blades boss Neil Warnock had his way, Sheffield United would be doing everything in their power to snap up Henderson on a permanent basis.