Celtic confirm open secret transfer deal

Celtic have confirmed the transfer of Jack Hendry to Oostende on a permanent basis.

There had been confusion over his Celtic status with the defender missing from a club tweet before the European Championships but then included in a Good Luck wish before the final group match against Croatia.

It had been widely reported that Oostende had a £1.75m fee agreed in the loan deal they took out last summer, with reported interest from English clubs they could sell the defender for treble that fee without him having played a single match as a ‘permanent’ signing.

Getting £1.75m for Hendry would have seemed like extremely wishful thinking 12 months ago with the defender recovering from knee surgery and making little impact following his transfer from Dundee in January 2018.

Hendry went from strength to strength at Oostende, making the starting XI for Scotland’s European Championship opener against the Czech Republic but as Celtic embark on a massive rebuild the former Dundee defender won’t play any part.