Jack Hendry looked unlikely to be swapping Dundee for Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic until manager Brendan Rodgers stepped in.
If there was ever an indication of how highly Celtic value Brendan Rodgers’ opinion, it was the deadline day signing of Dundee defender Jack Hendry.
The Hoops had been looking at the 22-year-old for a number of weeks, but it seemed that the deal would not happen with time ticking down.
Celtic had made two bids but both fell well short of Dundee’s £1.5 million price tag. And with the Sunday Post claiming initially that the Scottish Premiership champions were unwilling to pay such a fee, it looked like Hendry would be moving elsewhere with no shortage of interest from England.
But, according to TEAMtalk, this where Rodgers stepped in. It is understood that the manager demanded that Celtic do not miss out on one of Britain’s most talented young defenders.
Rodgers believes Hendry is a bona fide future star and it was his insistence that led Celtic to make a third bid for a ball-playing centre-half, who appears tailor made to fit into the Northern Irishman’s tactical system.
And, according to the Daily Record, Celtic sealed the signing of Hendry less than 24 hours later for £1.5 million – the exact fee that the Hoops were steadfastly refusing to pay until Rodgers made his desire to sign Hendry clear.
Since being appointed at Parkhead in the summer of 2016, Rodgers has led Celtic to a domestic treble, a club-record 69 game unbeaten run in Scottish football and they are currently cruising towards yet another league title.
So why wouldn’t they back him in the transfer market?
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