Johnny Kenny is being strongly linked with a January move to England after Celtic were credited with an interest in the 18-year-old Sligo Rovers forward.
The signing of Liam Scales in August highlighted Celtic’s renewed interest in native Irish talent with a record fee of £600,000 paid for the Shamrock Rovers defender.
Kenny scored 11 League of Ireland goals in the season just ended after starting 25 matches and coming off the bench 11 times, last month he scored against Bulgaria, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina in European Championship qualifiers for the Irish u-19 side.
Tonight, the Irish Mirror reports:
Sligo Rovers have a battle on their hands to retain Kenny for next season despite the teenager only signing a new three-year deal in November.
One of the league’s brightest talents, the 18-year-old forward has been tracked by a host of clubs – most notably in Scotland – since earlier in the year.
But interest from the Premier League in England could yet be a game changer and a January move away from the League of Ireland cannot be ruled out.
In November the Independent reported:
Celtic target Johnny Kenny has signed a new three-year deal with Sligo Rovers. The teenager has scored ten goals in all competitions for his local club this year after signing a first pro deal in January.
It has generated interest overseas, with Celtic keeping tabs on the progress of the 18-year-old.
Rovers would be due decent compensation in any scenario but they have moved to agree a deal with Kenny until the end of the 2024 season – although it remains possible there will be move for his services as soon as January.
Money will play a significant part in where Kenny goes next but for a decade or more Celtic have struggled to find a route to develop promising teenagers into first team starters.
At his current level playing for the Celtic u-20 side in the Lowland League isn’t going to develop his game with English clubs having well developed networks to send players out on loan.
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