Martin O’Neill has acknowledged the improvements made by Johnny Kenny from his loan stint at Bolton Wanderers.
The Irish striker spent last term with the League One side at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. He helped the club towards the playoffs which they won to secure a spot in this season’s Championship.
Kenny did, however, suffer a knee injury which would eventually put paid to his time down south and he made the trip back north to Glasgow to rehab.
Manager O’Neill worked with Kenny briefly last season before he made his switch and became a cult figure at Bolton where the fans penned him a chant.
And now he has addressed the forward’s chances of sticking around the first-team squad at Lennoxtown this campaign while the alternative may be allowing the 23-year-old former Shamrock Rovers attacker to depart for minutes elsewhere.
“Johnny’s here at this minute,” O’Neill said. “He’s got another three or four weeks before he’s fit. Like everything else, you’re waiting around for things to happen.
“I think Johnny did very, very well at Bolton. I think that Bolton were very impressed with him.
“I must admit, I will see when we get people into the football club, then we’ll have a wee look to see where we are.
“He looks as if he’s he’s got stronger looking as well too in his time away.”
Kenny may have played his final game competitively as a Celtic player but O’Neill’s comments suggest the Northern Irishman has been keeping an eye on the player during his loan.
And if the Hoops struggle to more firepower to their ranks for their Champions League playoff tie and the beginning of the new year, Kenny may have to step into the fold again through necessity.
Camilo Duran is poised to join Celtic on a £5.5million deal and the Colombian will add a fresh dynamic to the forward line.
But Kenny’s future may depend on other forwards coming to the east end of Glasgow.
The two-time capped Republic of Ireland star played 14 times for Bolton and scored six goals with three assists thrown in before his season was cruelly cut short.
