I was nearly a Toffee but Dee move is sweet

NEW signing Jack Hendry has joined Dundee to rekindle a career that, only a couple of years ago, saw him on the verge of joining Merseyside giants Everton.

Hendry came back to Scotland last week to join the Dark Blues after Wigan Athletic agreed to release him from his contract with them two years early.

But in an example of how crazy football can be, he’s revealed when he left Partick Thistle for England in 2015, he thought his destination was Goodison Park and not the DW Stadium.

“I was meant to be going to Everton and I was actually going down in the car when their bid got rejected by Partick Thistle,” explained the 22-year-old.

Wigan had seen an offer accepted and rather than head back to the Jags, where he’d only just broken into the first-team squad, Hendry held talks with them and decided to sign up.

And, while his time at the DW Stadium didn’t go to plan, he believes the decision to move south was the right one.

“I feel going to England was the right move and I feel I’ve learned a lot from going down there.

“It didn’t work out the way I wanted but sometimes that’s out of your hands.

“I gave everything while I was down there and met some good people along the way.

“With my loans (to Shrewbury and MK Dons) I feel I got a l ot of experience and I don’t feel you can have any regrets looking back.”

While his two seasons i n the English game saw him make just three appearances for his parent club — most of his top-team game time came during those loans — Wigan were happy to hang on to his services for this coming season.

Once Dens boss Neil McCann expressed an interest, however, Hendry’s mind was made up that a return north would be his best option.

“The chance to join Dundee came up, I spoke to the gaffer and I was impressed with his plans for moving forward.