Celtic have a mountain to climb next season overcoming the ongoing conundrum. Irrespective of Rangers’ resurgence under Steven Gerrard, a few transfer decisions have gone horribly wrong for the Hoops in recent windows. They failed to reconstruct the backline, yet opted not to rely on Jack Hendry who has now resurrected his career in Belgium.
The 25-year-old centre-half has opened up recently as he is aiming for a Scotland recall ahead of the European championships. He has raised questions on whether a fair opportunity was handed to him before sanctioning a loan deal last summer.
“But at the same time you’ve got to obviously ask questions like, ‘did I get as fair an opportunity as maybe I should have?’ These are obviously questions that in hindsight you can always look at, but in the moment I needed to look at myself, and I did.”
Revealed Hendry (as quoted by Sky Sports) who is enjoying a majestic stint with K.V. Oostende. The Belgian side were battling relegation last season but are favourites now to claim a place in Europe following an incredible turnaround.
The Scotsman progressed through the youth ranks of Celtic before rejoining the club from Dundee back in January 2018. He soon earned a key status under then boss Brendan Rodgers but fell down the pecking order as soon as Neil Lennon succeeded the former Liverpool chief. Minutes were hard to come by for Hendry at Parkhead, whereas a loan move to Melbourne City last winter did him no favour either.
Why Celtic Should Have Been More Patient With Hendry
Although a knee ligament injury saw him appearing only twice for the A-League side, Hendry was keen to impress Lennon during pre-season. But he was not at all in the manager’s plans who opted to bring in Shane Duffy from Brighton & Hove Albion on a season-long loan. The signing of Duffy turned out to be a catastrophic one forcing the gaffer to promote young Stephen Welsh in central defence amid the injury absence of Christopher Jullien. Hendry could have had his moments this term, but it was not in his hands anymore when he reported back to fight for his place prior to the 2020-21 campaign.
However, Celtic’s loss is Hendry’s gain who has re-established his expertise in the heart of the backline. He is representing De Kustboys week in week out and this emergence must have drawn the attention of Steve Clarke over a potential return to the national set-up.
