Former Celtic defender Jackie McNamara believes that Jack Hendry, who left the club to join Melbourne City on loan this week, is aiming to leave Parkhead permanently, having fallen very much out of favour under Neil Lennon.
The 24-year-old centre-back made just one appearance for the Hoops all season before sealing a temporary switch to the Australian A-League outfit on Wednesday and McNamara thinks that the player has gone to Melbourne with the intention of securing a permanent exit from Celtic.
Speeaking to Football Insider about Hendry, he said: “I think a loan, you know, he’s not played in a long time, I think he’ll be going on loan to show them and if he does well then get a permanent move – that will be his aim.
“It doesn’t seem he has a future at Celtic. They’ll (other clubs) have people there, watching the games and seeing what’s there, they’ll be able to see clips of him so I don’t think he’ll be completely off the radar to see if he’s producing or not.”
Considering how drastically Hendry’s fortunes nosedived at Celtic following the arrival of Lennon last February, McNamara’s prediction about the 24-year-old’s future does not seem at all outlandish. The three-cap Scotland international‘s only game-time under the current Hoops boss came with an 11-minute substitute appearance in the 5-0 Betfred Cup win over Partick Thistle last September (as per TransferMarkt).
Under Lennon’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers, Hendry wasn’t exactly a regular (26 appearances over the best part of two seasons) but he at least got a series of games in that time, including all six Champions League qualifying matches in 2018/19 and both games against Red Bull Salzburg in that season’s Europa League group stage. [via TransferMarkt]
Hendry was frozen out by Lennon to such an extent that he only appeared in a matchday squad once all season and, even with fellow centre-backs Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic having spells out through injury, the Celtic manager preferred to play midfielder Nir Bitton in defence rather than call the 24-year-old in from the cold.
With Celtic gunning for a ninth successive league title and already securing the Betfred Cup this season, as well as topping their Europa League group, it seems unlikely that Lennon will be removed from his job any time soon. For as long as he is in situ, it’s hard to see Hendry getting any real chance at the club, so McNamara’s suggestion that he could use his Melbourne City loan as a springboard to a permanent Parkhead exit is far from inconceivable.
Celtic fans, what do you make of McNamara’s claim about Hendry possibly using his loan spell to earn a permanent transfer? Share your views in the comments section below!
