Johnny Kenny agrees fresh loan deal with Shamrock Rovers

Shamrock Rovers have confirmed the re-signing of attacker Johnny Kenny on loan from Celtic.

The champions - who will chase a fifth title in a row this year - brought Kenny in on a loan deal last year, with the ex-Sligo Rovers man scoring five times in 34 appearances and winning the club's player of the year award.

The 21-year-old joined Celtic from the Bit O'Red in 2022 but he has yet to make a first-team appearances. He will look to continue his development in Tallaght with Stephen Bradley's serial winners.

"I'm delighted to be back," said Kenny. "Winning the title was massive for us last year and was a big incentive for me to come back. Hopefully we can kick on this year and go further in Europe and in the cup.

"I didn’t play to my best last season. I hope to get back fully fit this year and be able to show the fans what I’m really about."

Bradley is confident the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international has the ability to go to another level with the Hoops in 2024.

"We were always talking," he said. "I've been talking to Johnny since last summer about staying for another year, so we spoke about it on a regular basis.

"For someone so young, he’s mature in how he goes about the game and how he sees the game. He got a taste of it last year as we won the league and a taste of what he can achieve here, both as an individual and in a team.

"I always got the sense he wanted to be part of that and when we look at all Johnny’s stats last season, he’s very close to scoring a lot of goals and I think that can happen here.

"He’s a brilliant kid with a brilliant attitude and we feel he’s got all the potential to be a high-level centre forward."