Impressed Oostende have pleaded with Celtic to allow them to sign Osaze Urhoghide on a permanent deal after a head-turning loan stint.
The Dutchman was the first move in the Ange Postecoglou revolution when he became the Australian's first arrival at Parkhead 20 days after he was appointed last year.
But the former Sheffield Wednesday defender made next to no impact after making just one solitary competitive Celtic appearance - a Europa League win over Real Betis - and was shipped off on loan to Oostende in January.
And Oostende chief executive Gauthier Ganaye - who reignited Jack Hendry's career - has revealed he would love to make the loan move permanent.
He said: "Urhoghide has proved to be an excellent addition, but the problem is he is still too expensive for us.
"But I hope we can work out a solution with Celtic, then I would be very happy because we really want to keep Osaze."
And he admitted the loss of Scotland defender Jack Hendry to Club Brugge at the start of the campaign ruined their season.
He said: "Seeing Jack leave on the last day, we didn't see that coming and that completely changed the face of our season.
"It took months for us to adjust and we couldn't get a replacement until the next transfer window. It was very, very difficult to replace him."
