Neil Lennon yesterday confirmed that there would be some outgoings as Celtic look to streamline their squad through the departure of fringe players.
The manager told the prematch media conference ahead of today’s match with Partick Thistle that the club were hoping to have a few deals done in the coming days to see some players leave.
🗣 NL on outgoings: “We’re hoping to get a couple of deals done this, players going out on loan or permanently. No updates on that but two or three players are maybe going to leave.”
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 17, 2020
Jack Hendry and Eboue Kouassi are two that are set to move on as Neil Lennon sifts through the fringe players to free up squad space for potential new signings.
Hendry is set to head Down Under with a move to Melbourne City being reported in the Daily Mail. Whilst the Scottish Sun is reporting that Kouassi looks to be heading for Genk.
Hendry, 24, joined Celtic from Dundee two years ago and has failed to make an impact with his below-par performances earning criticism from sections of the support.
Now, the Scotland Internationalist looks set to kickstart his career with a move to the A-League. With just 11 minutes under his belt this season, Hendry will be keen to get some game time and whether he is moving on loan or on a permanent basis, he will be keen to rectify his lack of time on the pitch.
Jack Hendry never hid while at Celtic. Brendan Rodgers had to play him more often than was probably good for the player who didn’t get a chance to settle in at his new club – which was a giant step up from playing for Dundee. This happened due to the Celtic manager’s on-going issues with various people at the club including Dedryck Boyata who refused to play in that crucial match in Athens. Hendry played though and the ‘too much too soon’ soon had the Celtic support losing patience in him.
His confidence was gone and its hard to get that back – hopefully he’ll do that in the less demanding environment he’ll find in Australia. We wish him all the best.
Meanwhile, Kouassi – who joined from Krasnodar three years ago hasn’t played yet under Neil Lennon since returning from the ACL injury that forced him out of nearly a year of action.
Belgian side Genk are favourites to sign Kouassi as the 22-year-old aims for regular game time. The report claims that there may even be an option to buy for the midfielder should the move be favourable for all parties.
In July, The Celtic Star reviewed Kouassi’s situation and six months later it looks as if the Ivorian midfielder’s future looks set to be resolved. Kouassi looks a decent player when he’s managed to get some momentum on the park but in football sometimes a new manager wants his own players and the clear-out of Brendan Rodgers signings is a definite trend at Celtic under Neil Lennon. Again we wish Eboue Kouassi well.
Watch Neil Lennon’s Media Conference ahead of today’s Scottish Cup match against Partick Thistle at Firhill below. Kick-off is at 5.30pm.
ALSO ON THE CELIC STAR THIS MORNING…
Neil Lennon on Leigh Griffiths and the speculation and controversy that has surrounded the Celtic striker this week…‘So Griff may start against Thistle and I think he’d like to stay here,’ Lenny ends Griffiths speculation …see HERE.
David Turnbull talks openly about the nightmare he’s endured after discovering he needed a major operation on his knee while going through what everyone that was the formality of his medical ahead of his £3million plus transfer to Celtic last summer.
‘It was horrible. After the operation I couldn’t even lift my leg,’ David Turnbull’s knee op nightmare…see HERE.
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