Dean Henderson gets the green light to complete the season at Sheffield United following important clarification

The world governing body acknowledged guidelines, stating clubs whose schedules have been affected by coronavirus can prolong contracts set to expire at the end of June, also cover temporary agreements such as the one which brought the goalkeeper to Bramall Lane from Manchester United.

In a detailed briefing on the measures they are implementing to help the game tackle problems caused by the global pandemic, officials at FIFA’s Zurich HQ stated temporary deals had also been considered before a proposal, stating “where an agreement is due to expire at the original end date of a season, such expiry be extended until the new end date of the season.”

Henderson had been scheduled to rejoin his parent club Manchester United at the end of May. But the statement issued by a working party, established by FIFA to investigate issues arriving from Covid-19, means Henderson is now free to remain in South Yorkshire until the campaign, which has been suspended indefinitely, is concluded.

The 23-year-old, who last month looked set to win his first England cap, had been a driving force behind United’s climb to seventh in the table before the shutdown was announced; keeping 10 clean sheets and also helping them reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

The Star revealed in January that United hope Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Chris Wilder’s counterpart at Old Trafford, will grant permission for Henderson to spend next term at Bramall Lane too before a decision is taken on his future in the North-West.

Despite calls for him to replace David de Gea as Manchester United’s number one, a number of former Manchester United players have argued Henderson’s interests would be best served by spending another 12 months with Wilder’s squad, after he also helped them win promotion from the Championship a year ago.

One of those, Chris Turner, said: “The best solution might be another ­season on loan with the Blades.

“He can get all the fulfilment he needs there while he continues to develop at a good club doing very well in the Premier League.”

The mandate, permitting teams to extend loan deals, also means Mo Besic, Panos Retsos and Richairo Zivkovic can stay with United beyond May 30.

With competitions across the globe affected by the health crisis, which has so far claimed more than 80,000 lives worldwide, FIFA tasked Vittorio Montagliani, chairman of its football stakeholders committee, to chair a group responsible for identifying possible solutions to the regulatory and legal difficulties fixture suspensions have caused. It also included representatives from member associations, the European Club Association, players’ union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum.

Declaring coronavirus “a case of force majeure”, FIFA acknowledged: “This is an unprecedented situation for football. There has not been a similar shutdown of organised football since World War Two.”

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