Are Celtic telling the truth about Johnny Kenny?

Will the Irish striker still be at Celtic Park this season?

Are Celtic telling the truth about Johnny Kenny?

Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney has confirmed that Johnny Kenny is due to stay at the club this season after talking to Martin O’Neill. The news will come as a surprise to hoops fans who expected to see Kenny leave the club either on loan or permanently in the next few weeks. Especially considering the forward options bought by the club this summer. With Høgh, Duran and Osmand already at the club, it’s hard to see Kenny getting much game time this season. That being said, Maloney confirmed that the striker was willing to stay and fight for his place rather than go out on loan again. Maloney said

“At the moment, yeah. I think he spoke to Martin and he’s staying. He’s part of the squad”.

Links With Bolton

Many fans of Celtic and Bolton Wanderers will have thought the striker might have moved back to the Championship club after a successful loan spell there on loan last season. Fans of Bolton on social media seemed keen to reunite with Kenny and sound disappointed at the news he is unlikely to be playing in the second tier of English football with them. It had looked like either a loan or permanent move could happen after the Bolton manager made it clear he would like to work with him once again.

Possible Negotiating Tactic

There is the possibility that Celtic’s comments are just part of the usual transfer negotiations. Maybe the Bolton hierarchy haven’t come to the table with a decent offer or maybe Kenny has no interest in going there permanently. Either way, it’s hard to see how Johnny Kenny gets much game time this season unless we have injuries up top. Maybe he would be useful with his energy and closing down late on away from home in Europe this season, however you’d think that would be Osmand’s role this season. I would guess there is still a good chance that Kenny leaves this window if a suitable offer presents itself.

Maybe another loan spell at a good level would benefit him since he only signed a new contract last season. That would allow the club to reevaluate his progress next summer. Millwall were also credited with an interest recently so maybe Alex Neil will come forward later to try and do a deal. With several weeks left in the transfer window we’ll need to wait and see whether Kenny is indeed still here for the season.

What do you think? Would you keep Kenny and send him on loan again? Can you see him getting much game time?

All views expressed on Celtic DNA are personal opinions and are for commentary and discussion purposes only

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