Johnny Kenny is making encouraging progress during his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers, having departed Celtic on a loan move in search of consistent first-team opportunities…
The young Irish forward has featured seven times for the League One outfit so far, contributing one goal and three assists.
With the move set to run until the end of the campaign, Kenny has opened up on discussions with Martin O’Neill regarding the upcoming World Cup, which ultimately influenced his loan switch to Bolton.
Enjoy tea, biscuits and The Celtic Star – completely ad free…
Never see another Ad on The Celtic Star! Subscribe Now and get Seven Days for Free!
In an interview with The Sligo Champion, he explained that Martin O’Neill’s long-standing commitment to the Republic of Ireland and his ambition for the national side were key factors in approving the loan.
Kenny said: “The night before I signed for Bolton I spoke to Heimir [Ireland boss] about what I needed to do to get in the squad.
“He said, ‘you need to be playing regularly. Then, when I spoke with Martin, he said he wouldn’t stand in my way of hopefully going to a World Cup. Martin loves Ireland too. When we won in Budapest we actually spoke about it [O’Neill being in charge at Euro 2016]. He’d love to see us go there in the summer.”
“I’m sure Martin would probably travel himself. Two weeks ago he turned 74 and he still has the most energy out of everyone. He’s lauded up there.”
Kenny has earned just a single senior cap for the Republic of Ireland, having made his debut in a famous 3-2 victory over Hungary in November.
The Celtic striker was introduced for a 30-minute cameo in that match, following earlier fixtures against Portugal, Armenia and Hungary where he remained on the bench.
Still searching for his first international goal, Kenny will be keen to make an impact, and with another break on the horizon, the on-loan forward will be aiming to impress the Ireland manager and strengthen his case for inclusion in the World Cup squad.
Conor Spence
Introducing The Celtic Star App and our new ad-free Premium Service...
Go ad-free on The Celtic Star, get a FREE trial period to try it out. Also download our new App – available for both Apple and Android – and get the best Celtic content on your phone without fighting through pop-up ads and being forced to watch videos.
Our new PREMIUM service comes with a free seven-day trial so you can look before you book. If you are happy to continue the price will be just 99p per month or £9.99 for the year. For that you get an AD-FREE SITE plus access to our premium content, and you’ll also help us make The Celtic Star even better and less reliant on advertising revenues, allowing us to be more focused on publishing the best Celtic features on the internet.
Click HERE to access your FREE trial. We think you’ll like it! We’re Obsessed with Celtic and we think you are too! Join us hand in hand...
