Celtic have a group of very talented youngsters. They have had a tough time getting regular playing time in the Hoops’ first-team in recent years though, with the competition for places very tough. As a result, a number of them have gone out on loan in order to develop their games at the senior level.
The process of loaning out the prodigies has witnessed some alterations in recent years as well, with the reigning Scottish champions following the trend of sending players out to other leagues to make them master the physical and technical aspects of the game at the senior level.
One such player is Johnny Kenny. He completed a transfer to Celtic in January 2022, following an impressive breakthrough at Sligo Rovers.
However, it was not a long stay for the striker as he joined Queen’s Park on loan in the summer of 2022, after impressing at the Celtic B level. The 19-year-old did not get enough chances there though, due to which his spell was cut short and now, he has headed back to Ireland.
Celtic striker completes loan exit immediately after return
As reported by The Irish Times, Shamrock Rovers have announced the loan signing of Kenny from Celtic and the Irish club’s head coach Stephen Bradley said about the move:
"“We like his attributes and the way he plays the game. We’ve liked him and monitored him for quite some time. We tried to get him a couple of years back and it didn’t quite come off so we’re delighted to get him, because he has some really good attributes that we feel will improve the team.“He gives us a different option to what we have and a different type of player to what we have at the moment.“We know what he’s about and we’ve seen it first-hand, so there’s no surprises for us or for him. He knows the league and we know Johnny. In this team, with the chances we create and the way he plays, I think he’ll really enjoy it and score goals.”"
While playing for Sligo Rovers, Kenny impressed with his performances. The Irish youngster has loads of potential, and he might well prove his worth during his current loan spell at Shamrock Rovers. It remains to be seen how things go and whether he is able to carve out a path for himself in Celtic’s first-team picture in the near future.
A lot was expected when he went out to Queen’s Park but there, he did not get enough chances, with the Championship club pushing for promotion. Hopefully the story will be different at Shamrock Rovers.