Manager makes intentions clear as on-loan Celtic player looks a ‘different animal’ this season

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Earlier on this afternoon we spoke about the young Celtic striker, Johnny Kenny, and how he is kicking on at Shamrock Rovers this season.

Kenny scored a crucial goal for the League of Ireland side in last night’s 1-0 win over Derry City which gives Rovers a chance to close the gap even further this weekend as they are set to face table-toppers, Shelbourne.

The Republic of Ireland U21 cap has been impressive of late as Johnny Kenny‘s goals have kept Shamrock Rovers’ title hopes alive. And it seems that his manager is also very impressed with him.

Rovers manager wants Kenny permanently

Shamrock Rovers manager, Stephen Bradley has been seriously impressed with his young on-loan Celt and explained why he hasn’t featured as much in the first-team as Kenny would have liked.

Bradley said [Independent.ie], “Last year he looked a bit lost in his head. Could he have played more games?

“Yes, but that’s down to me. This year he’s been a different animal, in training, his mentality around the place and on the pitch, when he’s like he is at the moment you wouldn’t like to play against him, he has a bit of everything.”

When asked about being recalled by Celtic, Bradley joked, “He’s here, I will be chaining him to the gates.”

Kenny’s loan deal runs until the end of November this year. With Celtic looking to strengthen that position in the summer, the 20-year-old striker may well find himself being farmed out on loan again.

Whether Kenny has a long-term future at Celtic remains debatable. Without seeing what he can do in the green and white hoops one can only guess.

My opinion is that it’s unlikely that he will become a regular under Brendan Rodgers and it is likely his future will lie elsewhere.

But you never can tell in this game. Just look at what’s happened with Liam Scales this season. But for the moment, Kenny will be fully focused on trying to help his current club win the title.

And only his goals can make that happen. With six months left of his current loan deal to go and under contract at Celtic until 2026, there is plenty of time to see how Kenny’s Parkhead career will go.