Report: Celtic outcast Jack Hendry monitored by several Premier League clubs

By David Walton

March 3, 2021

Celtic outcast Jack Hendry is being monitored by several Premier League clubs ahead of the summer, according to the Daily Mail.

The Mail reports that Burnley, Brighton, and Sheffield United are all eyeing up the in-form Celtic man.

Hendry has been spending the campaign on loan with Belgian outfit Oostende. His loan club have already outlined their intentions to sign him in the past.

The Daily Mail, however, believe that his man-of-the-match displays on the continent have attracted Premier League scouts. They also report that Celtic will only make a decision this summer.

Hendry has reinvented himself with 22 appearances for Oostende this season. However, he hasn’t featured for Celtic since an 11-minute cameo against Partick Thistle back in September 2019. In total, Jack has only made 27 appearances for the Hoops since signing back in 2018 [Transfermarkt].

Rodgers may be about to be proved right on Celtic man Jack Hendry; could he be Premier League bound?

Former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers was the man who signed Hendry from Dundee. In total, it cost the club a reported £1.5m [Daily Record]. At the time, Rodgers believed Hendry’s potential to be “huge” and that he could become “a top-class defender” [BBC].

In fairness, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Rodgers was keen to give Hendry an opportunity back in the summer of 2018 after an initial six-month bedding in period. However, a string of positional errors combined with a lack of distribution quality set Jack back.

He never managed one single Premiership appearance under Neil Lennon. It was no surprise he was sent to Belgium in the summer. Indeed, the only surprise was that Celtic didn’t get him off the books permanently.

Jack Hendry in one of 27 Celtic appearances (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)

But it looks like everything about this season has been a success for Hendry. Celtic have managed to drum up the interest in the player, and could even recoup the money they splashed out on him at this rate.

It’s not even outside the realms of possibility that Hendry gets a shot in the summer. Celtic look set for a centre-back shortage with Shane Duffy heading back to Brighton and Kris Ajer looking all but set to depart. The club has already had to deal with the unforeseen departure of Hatem Elhamed – another centre-back option.

We’ll see what the summer brings. But if Celtic choose to sell, they should have plenty of suitors.

In other news, a Lennoxtown youngster has made a class u-turn on his future.