There’s no doubt that Jack Hendry has impressed a lot of people during his loan spell with Belgian side Oostende, but there were never any serious suggestions that he would return to Celtic this summer.
In a way it’s a surprise because the defence will need to be overhauled this summer so it seemed logical to give him a chance, but it appears that Celtic may not have had any choice in this either.
A report from 90min confirmed that the Belgian side have an option to buy him permanently for around £2m, and The Daily Record have now reported that talks have been opened about executing that.
Interestingly it does sound like there is still a situation where he could return to Celtic if terms cannot be agreed, while there are also suggestions that there’s other interest in him so Oostende could sign him simply to move him on for a profit.
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From Celtic’s point of view it may not be the best piece of business if he goes for less than his market value, but it’s still a sizeable fee for someone who wasn’t anywhere close to the team over the past couple of seasons.
His biggest issue was always on the ball where opposing sides would simply let him have it and mistakes were often made, so it suggests he will thrive at a lesser team where he needs to focus on defending rather than trying to create from the back.
At least it’s a reasonable fee that can be reinvested into the team, while it’s always good to see a Scottish player go abroad and prove themselves so it’s a decent outcome for all involved.
