Aaron Ramsdale has revealed the message of support he received from Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson after replacing him at Sheffield United.
Henderson shone during two loan spells at Bramall Lane but Chris Wilder's side accepted it would be near-impossible to secure his services again next season.
Instead the Blades began their search for a new goalkeeper and opted to re-sign Ramsdale from Bournemouth three years after selling him in the first place.
Ramsdale emerged as one of the most reliable shot-stoppers in the Premier League last season and will get another chance in the top flight next term following his move.
The 22-year-old knows the pressure is on as he prepares for a return to action next month, but he has already been given a confidence boost after receiving Henderson's backing.
“He (Henderson) messaged me when it all went through,” Ramsdale told The Sheffield Star. “We’re mates and we talk a fair bit. I actually saw him on holiday too - we went to Mykonos in Greece - and I class him as a friend.
"We had a good old chat out there, about how things were going for us and how we hoped everything would pan out, so I definitely class him as one of my friends. So even though it was brilliant of him to do it - to get in touch when I came back here - I wasn’t surprised because that’s the kind of person he is.”
The young goalkeepers are set to go head-to-head in the Premier League next season, while they are both also being tipped for future careers in goal for the England national team.
Ramsdale admits he is relishing a future battle with Henderson to be England's No.1 and he knows the comparisons will start as soon as he makes his Sheffield United debut.
Ramsdale: added: “Hopefully Dean and I are going to be seeing a fair bit of each other over the next few years, if everything works out as we’d like it to. We always push each other and help each other.
“He’s a year older than me and so he’s a bit ahead of me. If it happens (an England call-up) eventually, then it would be the proudest moment of my life. But I’m not thinking about that at the moment - only doing well for (Sheffield) United. If it happens, it happens.
“I know people are going to compare us both. That’s inevitable, really. But I’m my own person and we’re very different people.
“I can’t wait to get started here and back out on that pitch in a United shirt again and I’ve got to aim to do even better than he did.”
