Some Celtic fans have been left scratching their heads with the departure of Jack Hendry announced yesterday.
Hendry spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan with Belgian outfit KV Oostende. It was there he managed to turn his career around through a series of solid performances that saw him force his way into the Scotland squad for Euro 2020.
The former Dundee centre-back left Parkhead with an option-to-buy clause in the loan deal. Oostende have triggered that clause and Celtic will now reportedly bag £1.8m for Hendry [Daily Mail].
The Daily Mail reported yesterday that West Brom are now eyeing him up in a £5m move. It looks for all intents and purposes as if Oostende are ready to flip the Scotland international.
Hendry was previously signed by Brendan Rodgers in January 2018 from Dundee. The club reportedly spent £1.5m on him [Daily Record]. That effectively means that the Hoops haven’t lost anything on him – an impressive feat considering he’s been anything but a success in Glasgow.
Jack Hendry sale represents good business for Celtic and nothing else
What some Celtic fans aren’t happy about is how low we’ve sold Hendry for. That the improvements he made over the last 12 months could’ve led to him making an impact here.
That’s all well and good with hindsight. However, last summer, there was a roar of calls from the support wanting Hendry pushed out. If Celtic could’ve sold him permanently back then, nobody would’ve batted an eyelid. Just getting him off the wage bill for a year looked a good bit of business.
As for the low fee, we have to remember that there was another party involved here – Oostende. Perhaps they needed some extra incentive to finalise the deal. You can argue whether inserting it has come back to bite us, but that wasn’t the tune any of us were singing last summer.
It could’ve been the case that Oostende weren’t willing to accept a high option-to-buy deal. And given Celtic were able to make a profit on Hendry anyway, it’s a good deal for all parties in the end. This is, after all, what everyone will have wanted when the initial agreement was confirmed last season.
In any case, some fans have been left disappointed with Hendry’s departure. Here’s a look at some of the reaction to his move:
https://twitter.com/KierenLaverty/status/1408762820817215490
https://twitter.com/robbobocco/status/1408918132178272258
https://twitter.com/theceltsarehere/status/1408788082523095043
https://twitter.com/PaulMcG1994/status/1408773341998157829
https://twitter.com/ppetrov_fr/status/1408804084879179776
In other news, this Celtic-linked EPL talent is reportedly looking for first-team assurances should he move club.
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