Celtic could sign star who “defies the odds”

Celtic divert your attention from Scottish Premiership this evening as they prepare to welcome Swiss giants Young Boys to Parkhead at Champions League.

The Hoops are currently 23rd in the league stage and just one point above the teams chasing the play-off positions, meaning they need a win to ensure they stay on course for quality for the next stage.

Brendan Rodgers will be hoping his side can move on after they also progressed 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 great season in all competitions as they top the Premiership, have already won the League Cup and are still in the Champions League and SFA Cup.

Given the team’s comfortable position in the Premiership, sitting 13 points clear With Rangers in second place, Rodgers has the opportunity to offer the young players a chance to see if they have what it takes to progress if he wants to.

One young talent to feature for the Scottish giants this month is Irish centre-forward Johnny Kenny, who recently returned from a loan spell at Shamrock Rovers.

Johnny Kenny’s Celtic potential

Rodgers decided to include the forward in his first-team squad this month after his loan spell with the Irish outfit expired at the end of last year, and he recently handed him a Premiership appearance against Ross County.

Kenny came in from the bench the last 17 minutes from a 4-1 win and had a mixed bag, missing a ‘big chance’ in front of goal and assisting Luke McCowan’s goal by chipping 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 has returned to Celtic after impressing during his time at Shamrock Rovers on loan in the 2024 Irish Premier Division as well as the UEFA Conference League.

The Hoops youngster scored five goals of 3.78 xG in six games in the European competition, with one created ‘big chance’ and one assist for his team.

As you can see in the table above, Kenny provided a decent goal threat for Shamrock Rovers in the Premier Division, but still missed 14 ‘big chances’ in front of goal, suggesting he was wasteful at times.

The right-footed striker will now be hoping to hit the ground running and establish himself as a first-team regular for Celtic between now and the end of the season, but his long-term hopes of winning the number nine shirt could be damaged by the club’s moves. interest in another Irish shooter.

Celtic 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 claims 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 not be able to join a British team, such as Spurs or the Hoops, until January next year, as that is the next available transfer window after his 18th birthday, but that has not stopped the two clubs from wanting a deal wrapped up now.

They could agree the transfer of the St Patrick’s Athletic star this month and then monitor his performances for the Irish side in their 2025 campaign, before integrating him into their squad next year.

He added The Sun that Celtic are very interested in attacking the 17-year-old gem because they see him as a potential ‘future star’, which is bad news for Kenny, because Melia could come 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 that means he has a lot more time ahead of him to develop and hone his skills.

Despite his youth, Melia has emerged as an option for his club’s first team, with manager Stephen Kenny claiming the youngster “defying the odds” with his involvement in the team, while also applauding the striker’s work ethic.

As you can see in the clip above, the teenage starlet became the youngest goalscorer 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 superb strike.

If you compare his form in the Premier Division for St Patrick’s Athletic with Kenny’s form in the 2023 campaign, when he was three years older than Melia is now, it seems the Hoops are targeting an even bigger talent.

As you can see in the table above, the young dynamo, who was 16 years old that season, caught the eye with more goals, fewer ‘big chances’ missed and more duels won per match compared to Kenny.

This suggests there is potential for him to hold his own as a physical presence, given he averaged 1.3 more tackles per game while also being more effective in front of goal.

There’s no telling how either of them will develop further, as young players are difficult to predict, but on the evidence of Melia’s performances at a much younger age than Kenny, it seems Celtic would be signing an even bigger talent.

How he will use that talent and how Rodgers will help him as a manager remains to be seen, but there is latent potential for him to be an exciting signing and could damage Kenny’s long-term prospects for the Hoops if they can win the race for his signature.