Michael Cooper justifying "England" shouts at Sheffield United after ultimate Dean Henderson compliment

As the dust settled on his seismic penalty save in Friday night’s top-of-the-table clash against Sunderland, and before his side went on to claim all three points with a dramatic late winner, Michael Cooper received his first chant from the Sheffield United crowd since arriving at Bramall Lane earlier in the summer. There were a few blasts of the generic “Super Mike...” effort before one that cut through much clearer.

“England’s, England’s No.1...”

As a fanbase Unitedites aren’t exactly known for going overboard in their praise, preferring to leave such thoughts of grandeur to other clubs, but the tongue-in-cheek chant only reinforced the feeling that the Blades have a special young goalkeeper on their hands in the affable 25-year-old. Cooper exudes coolness and confidence, helping to transform a fanbase whose side conceded 104 goals last season into one that now has total confidence whenever the ball goes into their box.

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Friday’s Sunderland shutout means Cooper has now registered seven clean sheets on the bounce at Bramall Lane and ironically the next side to try and break that record are his former employers, Plymouth Argyle midway through this month. Both Cooper’s reputation and transfer value have soared since the summer and if he carries on this trajectory then thoughts of England recognition may not seem so ironic before long.

“It’s mental, the way everything’s gone,” Cooper said of his formative Bramall Lane career. “But like I’ve said before, there’s a lot more that goes into a clean sheet apart from the goalie and the back four. It’s the whole team, the whole setup, including the staff. So it’s a huge group effort, a joint effort, so far and hopefully it can continue. Because it’s given us a good base to go and get some good results.”

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Not half. United’s promotion bid has been built on a back-to-basics approach, boss Chris Wilder switching to a back four in pre-season and mixing a solid defence with an effervescent forward line. The results have been spectacular - the Blades climbing to the top of the division after beating Sunderland - and with Cooper given the ultimate United compliment after being compared to former loan favourite - and current England international - Dean Henderson.

So how has Cooper managed to strike up such a reliable partnership with his new teammates, in such a short space of time? “I can’t really tell you,” he said. “Anel [Ahmedhodzic] and Robbo [Jack Robinson] have been here a while but Soutts [Harry Souttar] has just come in as well. I think things have just clicked on the pitch.

“I can’t really explain why, but clearly the recruitment staff know their stuff because we have done well together so far. We’re just trying to keep building on what we’ve already done so far, and hopefully keep the clean sheets racking up.”