Elijah Just has moved a step closer to the centre of the transfer conversation after Colin Hendry publicly backed the Motherwell midfielder’s rise and suggested Celtic may already be weighing a move. Hendry said his son Callum had told him Just was “going places” after the New Zealand playmaker impressed on the world stage and kept his name in circulation for bigger clubs.
That attention has come quickly because Just is not being judged on one good night. He scored two goals in New Zealand’s first World Cup game, then carried the momentum back to domestic football after being impressive for Motherwell last season. He was also named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, a marker that matters because it shows his form was noticed across the Scottish Premiership, not only by the club he was playing for.
Hendry’s praise was direct. He said Just was “the one that stuck out for Motherwell” and recalled asking Callum about him after they had played together. Callum’s answer was simple: he was “going places.” Hendry linked that view to the World Cup, saying Just was delivering on the biggest stage and “bringing his stuff to the table” for New Zealand. For a player who has already done it in the Scottish Premiership and at the World Cup, that is the kind of profile that tends to travel fast.
The part that keeps this from becoming a straightforward transfer story is the uncertainty around whether any club has actually gone beyond watching. Just is believed to be on the radar of Celtic and Rangers, along with other clubs, but no deal or formal approach has been confirmed. Hendry only went as far as saying he would make a move if Celtic were “really, really, really interested,” and added that they may even have opened negotiations. That is a suggestion, not proof, but it is enough to show how far Just’s stock has risen.
For Motherwell, the issue is not just admiration from outside. It is what happens when a player who stood out last season, earned a place in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year and then scored twice at the World Cup starts attracting the sort of attention that comes with bigger ambitions. Hendry said he would be surprised if Just did not go up the levels, and that may be the clearest summary of where things stand now: the interest is real enough to be discussed in public, but the next move, if it comes, has not yet been made.
What happens next is the question that will define the story. If Celtic or Rangers decide to turn interest into action, Just’s World Cup form and his season with Motherwell will be the evidence behind the bid. If they do not, he still leaves this spell with a stronger reputation than when it began, and with Hendry’s comments only underlining that he is no longer being viewed as a player for one club or one league alone. Readers looking for the latest sign of that rise can also follow the wider World Cup build-up in Scotland V Haiti warning after Elijah Just says World Cup games will be no easy task.
