Celtic loanee hints he could be open to extending stay in Glasgow

There is no question that Jonjoe Kenny has made a solid impression in his loan spell with Celtic.

Jonjoe Kenny promotes the 'Broony' pin badge that will be sold in tribute to the outgoing club captain Scott Brown to raise funds for the Celtic Foundation. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Since the right-back arrived from Everton in February, he has featured in all 10 of the club’s games – a sequence in which a previously porous defence has coughed up only four goals. The 24-year-old is an understated and, oftentimes, unspectacular presence. The product of the Englishman building his game around goal prevention rather than overly-fixating on providing an attacking dimension on the overlap.

The uncertainty over Celtic’s management position leaves the possibility that the Glasgow club will seek to broker a permanent deal for Kenny up in the air. The player himself gives the impression he would certainly consider the option. He recognises that regular game-time at a permanent posting is a must at this stage in his career, just as he will know, deep-down, such won’t be forthcoming at Goodison Park. His desperation for senior football is the very reason why he jumped at coming north in the last transfer window. And why Celtic is his fourth loan club following stints at Schalke, Oxford and Wigan.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time here. To come to a club of the stature of Celtic has been very good for me,” he said. “Personally I haven’t heard anything about my future. There are a lot of games to go and things to sort out. I just want to take it week by week. I’ve got to stay focused on what I’ve got to do, which is performing to the maximum of my ability every week. I think I’ve done okay on my loan spells. I’ve been to some great places and enjoyed it and had some good seasons. But as a player you want to have a home for the long term, wherever that may be. I want to get the head down and really push on. The discussions will go on but I need to go out and perform.”

Kenny might be tempted to return for further service at the club because he appreciates he has been denied the true feel of life as a Celtic player – the product of the Covid-19 pandemic forcing all games this season to be played behind closed doors. It has diminished games as spectacles. Yet even the hostilities with Rangers, which he sampled in the league a three weeks ago and will do so again in next week’s Ibrox Scottish Cup tie, still possessed an edge for him.

“It would be a massive experience to play at a full Celtic Park. I’ve heard the stories and it’s a shame I’ve not had the chance to experience it,” he said. “The Old Firm game was a great experience. Of course you know how big the fixture is, but until you play in it, you don’t really know. You can see what it means to people. The cup game at Ibrox is one to look forward to but we need to look to the next game against Livingston. You don’t want to look too far ahead but we all know what the cup tie means and the magnitude of the game. But we will deal with that when it comes.”