Celtic have reached an agreement with Sligo Rovers to sign Hibs target Johnny Kenny for an initial fee of €150,000 that can be increased substantially by add-ons. The transfer is set to be concluded on Thursday making the Ireland Under 19 international goalscorer Ange Postecoglou’s fourth signing of what has been an exciting January transfer window for the Celtic support.
Celtic’s first three signings have all come from the J-League with Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, and Yosuke Ideguchi all signing as soon as the transfer window opened. Now the fourth signing for the Hoops is from the League of Ireland side. Kenny signed a new contract with his local side in November but had a buy-out option included in that deal. Celtic have matched that easily enough and have also provided lucrative add-on clauses that could see Sligo Rovers double their money on this deal.
🇮🇪 | Johnny Kenny
Irish striker Johnny Kenny will officially join Celtic from Sligo Rovers in the next 24 hours.
Celtic will pay an initial fee of £125K to activate his release clause however there will also be add ons included for the 18 year old.
[@McDonnellDan] pic.twitter.com/1baDbkMgnh
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) January 5, 2022
Irish media outlet Independent.ie reported on fears in Sligo circles that the buy-out fee of €150,000 would be all that they would end up with on this transfer but after what they describe as ‘lengthy talks’ with Celtic bosses an agreement has been reached that suits all parties.
Sligo will now receive additional money if Kenny makes a set number of appearances for the Celtic first team at any level – with another six figure sum on the cards if he reaches the limit. And the Irish side have also secured a sell-on clause in the deal “in the region of 10-15%” which could prove to be a shrewd move of Kenny reaches his potential at Celtic.
Johnny Kenny set for Celtic move as Sligo Rovers agree lucrative deal worth at least €150,000 https://t.co/yirkkGsOUM pic.twitter.com/kYRzPJqCRP
— Independent Sport (@IndoSport) January 5, 2022
“Kenny was one of the breakthrough stars of the 2021 League of Ireland season, hitting double figures in his first season as a senior professional. Celtic have been monitoring Kenny for a number of months and saw off competition from Hibs for his signature. There is a possibility that the 18-year-old will be sent out on loan to another Scottish club before the January window closes but nothing is agreed in that regard,” the Independent reports.
Johnny Kenny off to Celtic apparently. I reckon he could be in their first team as quick as Liam Scales.
— Marc O'Reachtaire (@o_reachtaire) January 5, 2022
