Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has admitted his regret at allowing Celtic defender Jack Hendry to leave his club.
Hendry was on the books at the League One side between 2011 and 2013. He never made a single appearance for the club, however, and ultimately moved on to Dundee United and then Partick Thistle.
The big centre-back has struggled to settle anywhere since becoming a professional. Moves to Wigan, Shrewsbury Town, and MK Dons didn’t bear much for him. It was at Dundee where he found some consistency for a year before making the big leap to Parkhead where he’s failed to impress yet again.
Despite that, however, Peterborough United chairman MacAnthony confirmed he regrets not keeping him.
Celtic defender Jack Hendry’s Parkhead future is looking grim
It’s difficult to make a case for Hendry having a big future at Parkhead anymore. When he signed for around £1.5million (Daily Record), we were made to believe he was going to be a long-term solution and be a top centre-back.
Unfortunately, whenever Hendry has been given a run of games, he’s made too many basic errors. Whether it be his positional awareness, his distribution at the back, or his man-marking – Hendry simply hasn’t impressed.
At 24 years of age, he still has time to develop and make a better name for himself. But that doesn’t look like happening at Parkhead. Hendry has already had a total of 26 chances to impress the Celtic fans. He’s rarely managed it.
And if Hendry heard Neil Lennon talking about “possibly” bringing another centre-back in (Scottish Sun), then his position looks even worse in the squad. He’s already behind reliable defenders such as Kristoffer Ajer, Jozo Simunovic, and now new signing Christopher Jullien. Another addition, and Hendry could probably consider himself fifth choice.
A “good player” that isn’t good enough
Peterborough’s MacAnthony may see a “good player” in there with Hendry, but he hasn’t been able to cut it at Celtic.
The problem the Hoops now have with the former Dundee and Partick man is that he’s still contracted to Celtic Park until 2022 (Transfermarkt). Unless someone comes in with some cash, Celtic still have to keep Hendry here for another three years.
A loan option should potentially be looked at, but it requires interest. Of that, there’s been nothing reported this summer from Parkhead.
In an ideal world, Hendry would head out and get some game-time on a weekly basis. Until he actually does, it’s difficult to see where he fits in here for the foreseeable future. You can read our season report on Hendry here.
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