news-engine

EFL Championship boss remains huge admirer of Celtic star after loan spell as transfer chances assessed Hoops striker helped English side to promotion last season Celtic striker Johnny Kenny remains a transfer target for Bolton Wanderers after a successful loan switch last season as boss Steven Schumacher vows to ‘try’ and sign him again. The Republic of Ireland international signed on loan for the Greater Manchester side in February, scoring six goals in 14 appearances to help them secure promotion to the Championship. Schumacher remains a big admirer, but is wary the 23-year old may be out of their budget. A move away from Celtic Park would make sense for Kenny, given that the club have just forked out a combined £17m on strikers Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh. Last season’s league clinching hero Callum Osmand also remains ahead of him in the selection pecking order. It was a similar story last season for the Sligo-born striker, who was third choice behind Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho. .jpeg?trim=0,1,0,0&crop=&width=640&quality=65>) Bolton boss assesses Kenny return chances Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Schumacher was asked whether a Kenny return to the Toughsheet Community Stadium could be on the cards. To which he responded: "Who knows? I've spoken openly and not hid the fact that I thought Johnny did a great job for us last season. "He was a real bonus for us, a plus when we signed him in January. He was a player that I tried to sign last summer, didn't manage to happen because Celtic needed him to stay in their squad. We managed to get him in January, he came in, made a huge impact, scored some really important goals for us, got some assists and he's a player who again I've said I would love to work with again because he was a brilliant character. "Now whether we can make that happen again, I'm not sure. I don't know whether we can financially afford it. I don't know whether he's going to be available from Celtic in whatever department, whether that be on loan or whether that be on a permanent.” Why would Schumacher welcome a Kenny return? The attacking trio of former Dundee United man Sam Dalby, Mason Burstow and Kenny helped Bolton get over the line in League One last season via the play-offs. Burstow was on loan from Hull City and since been farmed out again to Sheffield Wednesday. Schumacher went onto describe the qualities he liked in Kenny and that he’d love to get the attacking band back together. He continued: "He (Kenny) is a profile of a striker that I really like. He's somebody who's direct, he plays on the shoulder, he's got good speed, physically he was really good and better than what I’d expected. He was a really good player for us, an important player. And we'll just see how that one develops but he's not the only profile of a striker that we're looking at as well. "Mason (Burstow) was a slightly different centre forward to Sam Dalby. Sam Dalby's profile was different to Johnny Kenny so that's the ideal scenario. What we haven't got is a striker who likes to run in behind, play on the shoulder and we haven't really got a physical one either who can come on and bash people about. We'll have to try and get all three if possible."