Johnny Kenny makes Celtic switch

Celtic FC have added another former League of Ireland player to their ranks with the signing of Johnny Kenny from Sligo Rovers. A couple of months after defender Liam Scales departed Shamrock Rovers to join the Bhoys, striker Kenny has inked a deal with the Glasgow outfit.

After bursting onto the League of Ireland scene in 2021, he finished up as Sligo's top scorer netting 11 league goals and once in Europe. The son of the legendary Sligo player of the same name in the 1990s also ended the year with international underage experience. He scored for Tom Mohan’s Under 19s against Bosnia in November, a month after being part of Jim Crawford’s Under 21s for their encounter with Montenegro. 

In an open letter published on sligorovers.com, the young striker thanked the club, his coaches and supporters, “After six years at the club I have grown up loving, it has come to an end. This has been such a tough decision and message to write because I love playing for my hometown club and I love being at home.

!But I think now is the time to test myself at another level. I want to say thanks to every academy manager at the club who has helped me. You've been amazing, there are just too many to name.

“To all the people who keep this club running on a daily basis, I want to say thank you for everything since I walked in at that gate at the age of 13. 

“To the gaffer Liam Buckley and John Russell –  without their trust in me I would be nowhere near where I am today. I can’t speak highly enough of them and what they’ve done for me.

“Finally, to play for the club I love in front of you special fans. It was incredible. I got goosebumps every time my name went around the Showgrounds.”

The club themselves, to the same source, also acknowledged the input of his schoolboy club as well as praising the forward himself, “Johnny has made a noteworthy contribution to Sligo Rovers in just one season as a senior professional, helping the club secure European football again and establishing what is now a tradition of the Kenny family thrilling our supporters.

“We would like to acknowledge the work of his former club Arrow Harps FC for their role in Johnny’s development and the coaches within our academy who nurtured his game for four years until promotion to the first-team exactly 12 months ago. We will continue to evolve and invest in the Sligo Rovers Academy with our philosophy of creating a regional hub for footballers in the north-west, Connacht and beyond.”

His manager Liam Buckley was also enthusiastic, speaking to sligorovers.com, about the impact the teenager had in his short spell in the first team.

"Johnny has been magnificent for Sligo Rovers. At a very young age he showed all the attributes to make a successful career in the game and he can take great pride in what he has already achieved in these very early days. It was clear a move would occur at some point and as it comes now, all of our staff, players and coaches wish him the very best. He retains our support whenever needed."

Eoin Doyle: 'I got a phone call from the owner (Garrett Kelleher), and everything moved really quickly' https://t.co/MhCmNLXh4Ppic.twitter.com/h3Ld3dGsCb

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) January 8, 2022