Sligo Rovers would have preferred to keep Johnny Kenny but the striker’s departure was ‘inevitable’, assistant coach John Russell tells the Daily Record of the new Celtic signing.
Johnny Kenny could be forgiven for feeling like a minor character in a larger ensemble piece at Parkhead.
After all, a teenager arriving from across the Irish Sea was probably the least heralded of Celtic’s five January arrivals.
But remember when the critics said that the most enthralling chapter of the latest James Bond blockbuster came during Ana de Armas’s ten minutes of screen-time?
Just because Kenny is not the star attraction, the headline name on the poster, that does not mean the highly-rated poacher cannot make a big impression when his time to shine arrives.
“When you have a talent like Johnny, there’s always the risk of him being picked up. I think it was inevitable,” says Russell.
“From a selfish point of view we would have liked to have kept him for another year, but the chance for him to go to Celtic now is great.”
Will Johnny Kenny be a bargain signing for Celtic?
Kenny was supposed to be joining Hibernian last month.
That was until Celtic swooped in, however, snapping up one of the most exciting talents in Ireland for a bargain fee of £125,000.
Kenny scored an impressive 11 goals in 32 league games during his breakthrough season at Sligo Rovers last term.
“Johnny’s a big prospect,” Russell adds. “He came into us during our pre-season last year when he was still at school. He exceeded expectations and netted five or six goals in pre-season.
“To be at Celtic 12 months later is a dream come true for him, his family and the people of Sligo.”
Kenny is not the only young Irishman who made the move across the sea last month. Killian Phillips of Drogheda United played his way onto Crystal Palace’s radar after an impressive breakthrough campaign of his own.
Danny Mandriou, meanwhile, caught Celtic’s eye too while firing Shamrock Rovers to league glory.
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