Bruno leads praise for 'top lad and professional'
Nathan Bishop is yet to make a first-team appearance for Manchester United, but he is held in high regard by his team-mates and they were delighted to see him sign a new contract on Monday.
The young goalkeeper joined the club from Southend United in January 2020, after impressing our coaches and scouts in 39 appearances with the League One side.
“The opportunity to join Manchester United is a dream come true,” Bishop told us at the time, before looking ahead to his future as a Red. “This club has a great record of developing goalkeepers and I cannot wait to work with the coaches here to improve every single day.”
Nathan’s statement of intent could not have been more accurate back then because, true to his word, he has diligently worked on his craft at the Aon Training Complex since then, under the guidance of goalkeeping coaches Richard Hartis and Craig Mawson.
Bishop: It’s an amazing club
Nathan Bishop discusses working with our goalkeepers and a potential loan deal, after signing a new United contract…
Bishop is a popular figure in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad and a valuable member of the goalkeeping union, as he works closely with David De Gea, Dean Henderson and Lee Grant.
It was announced on Monday afternoon that Nathan has signed a new contract until June 2023 with an option for a further year, and he will soon head out on loan to enhance his education.
The news of Bishop’s new deal was celebrated by his team-mates on Instagram, with many of them sharing the announcement on their Stories with words of praise.
Bruno Fernandes is always quick to support his fellow Reds on social media and the Portuguese magnifico wrote: “Well deserved kid! Top lad and amazing professional.”
Scott McTominay echoed that sentiment with this message for our young stopper: “This makes me happy seeing this. What a professional!”
Juan Mata continued the theme by dropping a comment on the club’s post, writing: “Well deserved. Top guy and top professional, well done @NathanBishop30.”
As you would expect, Bishop’s fellow goalkeeper and United mentor De Gea also got involved, simply adding a heart eyes emoji beneath Mata’s comment.
Looking ahead to the future, Bishop hopes to show how much he has improved his game at United during an upcoming loan spell.
“Definitely. When I made my debut [for Southend], I was very excited and I was young and eager to do everything and be really on it. But I think that enthusiasm can sometimes be draining.
“I only played 45 minutes but I remember those 45 minutes were the quickest and most draining of my life. Now I’m ready to hopefully step into an environment and hopefully play 90 minutes and be able to even lead people and help people, and trust in them knowing they have trust in me; that’s what I’m really excited for.”