Dean Henderson may have to play second fiddle to David de Gea at Manchester United this season but the goalkeeper did make his England debut earlier this month.

The 23-year-old replaced Nick Pope at half time during England’s 3-0 friendly victory over Ireland to receive his first senior cap.

It was a moment that Henderson will remember for the rest of his career. It’s obviously sad that his family were unable to be inside Wembley Stadium to witness it but they would have been watching at home full of pride.

However, ‘proud’ isn’t the only emotion they would have been feeling. They would have been feeling pretty smug too.

Why?

Let us explain.

Nine years ago, Henderson was at Carlisle United but he clearly had talent. His uncle could certainly see the talent, that’s for sure.

That’s because he stuck £25 on him to play for England at 500/1 with William Hill. So, nine years later when Henderson came on against Ireland, Martin Plunkett pocketed a tasty £12,500.

But Henderson’s uncle wasn’t the only family member heading down to the bookmakers after the ‘keeper made his England debut.

Shortly after Mr Plunkett had placed his bet, Henderson made the move from Carlisle to Manchester United. It was then that the player’s mum and nan jumped on the bandwagon.

Of course, after signing for the biggest club in England, the odds were slashed from 500/1 to 50/1. But they each placed a £50 bet on that, winning a cool £5,000 between them.

Speaking to the Mirror, Henderson’s uncle said: “I haven’t spoken to Dean about the bet but he did text after the game last Thursday to tell his mother, ‘Have we all got the money?’

"Obviously we haven’t been paid out yet. We say we’re waiting for it. He’s chuffed to bits.

"We told him we got confirmation from William Hill that the bet was alright so yeah, he was chuffed for us. He’s a good lad. He deserves it.”

“Anyone you ever spoke to who knew about him would tell you he’ll go to the top.

“So obviously you have a little bet, don’t you? To be fair, it was only William Hill that would take the bet.”

What a lovely story.