Neil Lennon discusses forgotten Celtic duo Daniel Arzani and Kerr McInroy

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Kerr McInroy and Daniel Arzani have not made a Scottish Premiership appearance since Neil Lennon replaced Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has name-dropped forgotten duo Kerr McInroy and Daniel Arzani when discussing which Hoops youngsters could make their mark in the first team over the next few months, in quotes reported by Celtic TV.

A youthful Celtic side thrashed Ross County 6-0 on Saturday with 18-year-old Jeremie Frimpong making his maiden Scottish Premiership start alongside Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard while Ukrainian winger Maryan Shved came off the bench.

Former Manchester City flyer Frimpong was one of a number of highly-rated teenagers who moved to Parkhead over the summer, including Lee O’Connor, Luca Connell and Jonathan Afolabi while Armstrong Oko-Flex was snapped up from Arsenal in September 2018.

But Lennon was keen to point out that Arzani and McInroy have a part to play too, not to mention the exit-linked 16-year-old Karamoko Dembele.

“We’re building, not just for the present with the current first team squad, but for the talent underneath that,” said the former Hibernian boss.

“You’ve got Dembele, you’ve got Oko-Flex, you’ve got Kerr McInroy coming back hopefully from a long-time injury pretty soon as well, you’ve got Daniel Arzani. So there’s young, hungry talent underneath what we already have in a solid first team squad.”

Arzani, the youngest player at the 2018 World Cup who joined Celtic on a two year loan after being snapped up by Manchester City, has recently returned to training after a cruciate ligament injury which kept him out for over a year.

Doubts had been raised about whether Arzani, a Brendan Rodgers signing, had a future under Lennon but Australia coach Graham Arnold told Fox recently that the dazzling winger is still very highly regarded at Parkhead.

Deep-lying midfielder McInroy has struggled with injuries himself, fitness problems denying him the chance to make his Celtic debut. But should the 19-year-old get back to his best behind the scenes, The Hoops could have Scott Brown’s long-term successor in their ranks.