Jack Hendry turned down English clubs to secure Celtic move

New Celtic defender Jack Hendry says he rejected offers to move back to England in favour of a transfer to the Scottish champions.

Speaking to Celtic TV, Hendry said that he was always keen to make the switch to Celtic, despite interest from English sides.

He said:

There was a lot of interest from down south but there was only one place I wanted to come and that was Celtic.The coaching staff, squad, facilities and fan base, it ticks all the boxes for me personally. I want to strive in this kind of environment. I see myself as a winner, and there’s a winning mentality here so that’s something I want to be part of. I feel that suits me well.

Nottingham Forest and Preston North End were just two of the sides linked with moves for Hendry during the transfer window but he only has his sights set on a move to Celtic Park.

Hendry is likely to be part of Celtic’s starting XI when they face Zenit in the Last 32 of the Europa League and the 22-year-old says getting the chance to play in games such as that was a major factor in him joining the club.

That’s where you want to play, and why I came here to play on those stages. If I fulfil my ability that’s certainly somewhere that I will look to play, and that’s one of the reasons I came to play here.

Aged 22, the defender has played in just 56 first-team games as a professional after spells with Wigan, Shrewsbury and the MK Dons. He said that his struggles at those sides, although not enjoyable, helped him learn a lot about himself.

I felt I learnt a lot from that period. At times it wasn’t the most enjoyable but you learn a lot from those times and I felt that I became a better person on the pitch and off it. It seemed a good move at the time, didn’t pan out for whatever reason, but I’m just looking forward now and I’ve ended up here and it probably couldn’t have gone any better.