WANDERERS could have to wait until the back end of the summer transfer window if they want to land Celtic striker Johnny Kenny.
The Irish striker remains on Stephen Schumacher’s shortlist, but it appears that a decision on his future will not be taken until the end of this month, once the Glasgow club’s pre-season is concluded. According to tabloid sources, Bolton’s £500,000 proposal was rejected a few weeks ago, with Celtic demanding £1 million.
Bolton is still interested in the player, but as they have proven with past targets this summer, they have backup plans and will change course swiftly if they believe their chances of bringing him to the Toughsheet are waning. Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has recently stated that he does not intend to lose Kenny permanently, but that the club will explore moving him away for further experience. That is consistent with the message coming out of Celtic Park since the conclusion of last season, when the younger returned from a successful loan with Shamrock Rovers to play a few games in the Scottish Premiership.
“I’ve spoken with a few clubs that want to take him on loan,” Rodgers stated. “I just want to take a look in preseason to assess where we are and what will work best for his development. We clearly want him to be a Celtics player. “He is a goalscorer. There is no dispute about that. It’s about what’s best for him and Celtic, whether that’s staying here or leaving to play in more games. But I’ll evaluate that during the preseason. “He’s enormous on the field, and he’s bigger in his uniform. He presses, runs, and behaves aggressively. And, as I mentioned, he’s a great finisher after 25 yards.
So, we believe there is a lot of promise there; we want to try to develop it, and we’ll see how he performs during preseason.” Wanderers certainly need attacking additions, with summer acquisition Sam Dalby now serving as the sole recognised number nine in the squad.
Dalby did not feature in the weekend’s behind-closed-doors game against Tranmere, but he did travel to Marbella with the squad for their pre-season training camp. John McAtee and David Abimbola are also available in pre-season, but Bolton has advised Dan Nlundulu that he can find another club, while Vic Adeboyejo is still recovering from a knee surgery.
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