Back from an inconclusive loan spell in Italy, the Scotsman is determined to earn his place in the Venice of the North.
Just back from his loan to Cremonese, Jack Hendry started in the rear of Club Brugge for the trip to Antwerp last Sunday. The 27-year-old Scot played the full 90 minutes for only the fourth time this season.
Jack Hendry arrived in Venice of the North in August 2021 from Ostend. “Obviously” he said when signing. “I know the ins and outs of a top club and that’s exactly what I was looking for in my career. »
A good first impression, big mistakes and a cellaring
In the starting XI from his debut, Hendry had played the entirety of the Champions League campaign for the Club and had made 22 starts in 25 Jupiler Pro League games. Placed on the bench twelve months ago almost to the day (February 6, 2023 against Ghent), the 27-year-old has definitely lost his place after suffering multiple criticisms.
This summer, it was to Italy and Cremonese that Jack Hendry went to relaunch… and we can’t say that it was a success. Even if he has retained his starting place in the Scottish national team by playing in particular all the meetings of group B of the League of Nations, the central defender has only participated in six meetings of the current red lantern of Serie A .
363 minutes (218 in the league, 145 in the Cup) before Scott Parker, just appointed to replace Carl Hoefkens, decides to try as many core players as possible to break the bad dynamics of the Club. Here is Hendry again, surprise holder during the clash at Antwerp this Sunday. And the Glasgow native made a pretty good impression on us. Solid in the duels, he completely deprived Vincent Janssen of balls – something mandatory if you want to hang a result against the Great Old.
Without being transcendent, like all the actors in this part, Hendry did the job. A situation that could cost Clinton Mata dearly, who was already struggling to convince his coaches during this exercise, but who could take advantage of the return of a 4-man defense to increase his total minutes on the right lane. Brandon Mechele seems unavoidable, but Dedryck Boyata, Abakar Sylla or even Denis Odoi can also claim a place in the eleven. With this return of Jack Hendry, it is an additional profile made available to Scott Parker, who will have to make strong choices.
If he has matured, the Scot will deprive us of his cards and regrettable actions which had cost him his place under Alfred Schreuder. Bruges, the country’s 6th defense, will have to exploit this well-stocked squad to string together clean sheets like at Antwerp… the first since last October.
