The Celtic fans appear split over the reported move for Jack Hendry to KV Oostende that’s emerged in recent days.
It was first reported by 90Min last week that Oostende had moved to trigger the option-to-buy clause in Hendry’s contract. That was backed up by the Daily Record last night, who claimed that the centre-back had penned a three-year contract with the Belgian outfit after a successful loan spell last season.
It comes after Hendry struggled to make an impression at Celtic between 2018 and 2020. His departure to Oostende on loan came with no complaints from the Parkhead faithful. Many would likely have rather seen him be sold permanently at the time.
However, after a stunning campaign in Belgium that’s led to Hendry heading to Euro 2020, things appear different. Hendry looks a lot more composed in big-match environments and has managed to grow his reputation considerably over the last 12 months.
So much so that there has been reported Premier League interest in his services [90Min]. It’s been said that Oostende may chose to flip Hendry for big money this summer.
Jack Hendry to KV Oostende can’t be blamed on Celtic
It’s unfair, in my view, to pin any blame on Celtic here. Hendry wasn’t cutting it at Celtic Park and was making far too many basic errors during his time here. He wasn’t comfortable with the ball at his feet, whilst his positional awareness was his biggest weakness. Something that doesn’t bode well for a club that often plays a high line.
Nobody could’ve seen his rise coming. He hadn’t show any signs of quality during his time at Celtic Park. So much so that many even considered him a bit of a joke figure before his move to Belgium. Even the thought of playing Hendry was enough to make some feel uneasy.
Credit to him for developing his game and looking a lot more switched on than he once was. But judging by the recent Scotland fixture against the Netherlands, he’s still prone to poor mistakes. He’s still giving away careless fouls and still at times misjudges aerial balls. There’s no guarantee he was coming back here and being a regular.
Granted, it would’ve been ideal for the new Celtic manager to be able to have a look at him. Maybe he would’ve liked what he saw from the former Dundee man. Chances are though that Hendry would’ve been on the sidelines for the Hoops once again this term.
But there’s plenty of mixed reaction to this from the Celtic support. Here, we take a look at what opinions have been flying about on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/seanb1888/status/1402046138061148165
https://twitter.com/jameshewitt380/status/1402020366512496645
https://twitter.com/LightingMonkey/status/1401978529227624459
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