KV Oostende only received a disappointing £3.5m from Club Brugge for former Celtic defender Jack Hendry, the Scottish Sun reports.
The Sun reported on deadline day that the Hoops were entitled a percentage of any sell-on fee. This came after Oostende bagged Hendry for £1.5m earlier in the window [Daily Record].
It had previously been reported in the earlier stages of deadline day that Scotland international Hendry would be leaving in a deal up to £8.6m [Sky Sports]. But it appears that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Oostende technical director Gauthier Ganaye has confirmed that, whilst the club wanted more than double the figure they got for him, it was indeed a lower fee than first thought.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, Ganaye said: “When we activated the purchase option clause to buy Jack from Celtic, we also had to reach personal agreement with the player. Jack put in a clause that he could leave for a fixed price. If we didn’t agree to that, he wouldn’t have signed for us.
“Club Brugge were willing to meet that transfer clause and Jack’s express wish was that he could sign for a club who were playing in the Champions League. Normally, the fee we would have been looking for would have been around £8m.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened on transfer deadline day, but a contract is there to be respected and we don’t want to get in the way of the wish of a player who has always given 100 percent here.”
Celtic likely looking at dramatically less for Jack Hendry sell-on fee
We can’t pinpoint exactly how much Celtic will be receiving here. However, if the player has only gone for such a low amount, it’s hardly worth celebrating.
Had he been off for over £8m? Chances are we would’ve been in for a tidy sum. Instead, that looks like it’s been ripped out due to a clause Hendry himself put into his agreement with the Belgian side.
It’s a sign that Hendry never truly had his eyes set on Oostende either. Considering the low fee he wanted in the contract, you can’t say he saw himself with the club this season.
It’s clear he feels he’s ready for a step-up. Whilst Club Brugge are domestic rivals, he’s certainly bagged what he was after. They’ll be in UEFA Champions League action this season with some mouth-watering matches against the likes of Manchester City and PSG respectively.
Time will tell whether we made the right decision in not giving Hendry another shot. How he handles his move to Brugge will be a firm indication.
But as for our transfer bonus from the sale? It’s likely hardly worth mentioning at this point.
In other news, Davie Provan calls out Ryan Christie for Celtic to Bournemouth switch
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