Celtic turn their attention away from the Scottish Premiership this evening as they prepare to welcome Swiss giants Young Boys to Parkhead in the Champions League.
The Hoops are currently 23rd in the league phase and only one point above the teams chasing a spot in the play-off positions, which means that they need a win to ensure that they will remain on course to quality for the next stage.
Brendan Rodgers will hope that his side can kick on after they also progressed through to the next round of the SFA Cup last time out, beating Kilmarnock 2-1, thanks to goals from Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda.
Celtic have enjoyed a terrific season across all competitions, as they are top of the Premiership, have already won the League Cup, and are still in the Champions League and the SFA Cup.
Given the team’s comfortable position in the Premiership, sitting 13 points clear of Rangers in second place, Rodgers has a chance to offer opportunities to young players to see if they have what it takes to make the step up, if he so wishes.
One young talent who has featured for the Scottish giants this month is Irish centre-forward Johnny Kenny, who recently returned from his loan with Shamrock Rovers.
Johnny Kenny's Celtic potential
Rodgers decided to include the striker in his first-team squad this month, after his loan with the Irish team expired at the end of last year, and he handed him a Premiership appearance against Ross County recently.
Kenny came off the bench for the final 17 minutes of the 4-1 win and had mixed success, missing a ‘big chance’ in front of goal and assisting Luke McCowan’s goal by bundling the ball towards the midfielder in the box.
The 21-year-old gem, who turns 22 this summer, was then an unused substitute in the 3-3 draw with Dundee and was not included in the squad that beat Kilmarnock 2-1 in the SFA Cup.
Kenny came back to Celtic after impressing during his time with Shamrock Rovers on loan in the 2024 Irish Premier Division, as well as in the UEFA Conference League.
The Hoops youngster scored five goals from 3.78 xG in six matches in the European competition, to go along with one ‘big chance’ created and one assist for his side.
Appearances
29
Goals
13
Big chances missed
14
Big chances created
1
Assists
2
As you can see in the table above, Kenny provided a decent goal threat for Shamrock Rovers in the Premier Division, but did still miss 14 ‘big chances’ in front of goal, which suggests that he was wasteful at times.
The right-footed forward will now be hoping to kick on and establish himself as a first-team regular for Celtic between now and the end of the season, but his long-term hopes of landing the number nine shirt could be damaged by the club’s interest in another Irish marksman.
Celtic's interest in Irish starlet
Earlier this month, The Sun reported that Celtic are one of a number of clubs interested in a deal to sign St Patrick’s Athletic centre-forward Mason Melia in the January transfer window.
The report claimed that Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, along with Eintracht Frankfurt and Genk, have also shown an interest in the 17-year-old starlet, as they look to snap up the promising youngster.
Melia would be unable to join a British team, such as Spurs or the Hoops, until January of next year, as that is the next available transfer window after his 18th birthday, but that has not stopped the two clubs from wanting to get a deal wrapped up now.
They could agree a transfer for the St Patrick’s Athletic star this month and then keep tabs on his performances for the Irish outfit in their 2025 campaign, before integrating him into their squad next year.
The Sun added that Celtic are very keen on a swoop for the 17-year-old gem because they see him as a potential ‘future star’, and that is bad news for Kenny, as Melia could come in as an even bigger talent than the 21-year-old ace.
Why Mason Melia is an even bigger talent than Johnny Kenny
Firstly, the St Patrick’s Athletic ace is more than four years younger than Kenny and this means that he has far more time ahead of him to develop and hone his skills.
Despite his young age, Melia has emerged as a first-team option for his club, and manager Stephen Kenny claimed that the youngster is “defying the odds” with his involvement in the squad, whilst he also hailed the striker’s work ethic.
As you can see in the clip above, the teenage starlet became the youngest scorer in the club’s history at the age of 15 years and 132 days in the Leinster Senior Cup, finding the top corner with a terrific strike.
If you compare his form in the Premier Division for St Patrick’s Athletic to Kenny’s form in the 2023 campaign, when he was three years older than Melia is now, the Hoops target appears to be an even bigger talent.
Appearances (starts)
30 (17)
31 (14)
Goals
5
6
Big chances missed
6
4
Pass accuracy
74%
75%
Duels won per game
2.0
3.3
As you can see in the table above, the young dynamo, who was 16 a lot of that season, caught the eye with more goals, fewer ‘big chances’ missed, and more duels won per match in comparison to Kenny.
This suggests that the potential is there for him to hold his own as a physical presence, given that he won 1.3 more battles per game on average, whilst also being more efficient in front of goal.
There is no telling how either of them will go on to develop, as young players can be hard to predict, but on the evidence of Melia’s performances at a much younger age than Kenny, it appears as though Celtic would be signing an even bigger talent.
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How they use that talent and how Rodgers would help him as a coach remains to be seen, but the latent potential is there for him to be an exciting signing, and one that could damage Kenny’s long-term prospects, for the Hoops if they can win the race for his signature.