Kenny should never do it again if Celtic sign £34m striker target

Wilfried Nancy will soon have the opportunity to make his first signings as Celtic manager when the January transfer window opens next week.

The French coach has lost four of his five matches in charge of the Hoops in all competitions, although he won his first game against Aberdeen last weekend.

He will have learned a lot about his team over these five matches and that could shape what he wants the club to do in the next transfer window, which is why Johnny Kenny could be in trouble.

Why Celtic must replace Johnny Kenny

The Ireland international’s performances in the Scottish Premiership this season suggest Celtic will need to replace the striker when the January transfer window opens.

As you can see in the table above, Kenny has been the most useless finisher on the entire team, by far, with four goals in 7.45 xG this season.

The 22-year-old star started the last two Premiership matches against Dundee United and Aberdeen, with Kelechi Iheanacho absent due to injury, and struggled in both games.

In those two outings, the young Celtic center forward missed four “big chances” to find the back of the net, from nine shots in total, and failed to score a single goal, according to Sofascore.

Ultimately, Kenny has proven to be incredibly unreliable in front of goal as the Hoops’ main man in the ninth position, which is exactly why the Scottish giants need to replace him in January.

Now Celtic can guarantee the Irish flop won’t have to start another league game for the club by adding a reported goal to their squad next month.

Why Celtic should sign Evan Ferguson

Earlier this month it was reported that the Scottish giants had been offered the chance to sign Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion as his loan spell from Roma could be cut short.

While it is not yet confirmed that the Irishman will be available next month, the Hoops are expected to make a strong effort to bring him in if that aforementioned report is accurate and his loan spell in Italy ends.

Ferguson, who has a £34 million option to buy in his loan, has scored just one goal in 12 Serie A matches for Roma, according to Sofascore, in what has been a frustrating spell for the young centre-forward, but he showed his quality in the Europa League against Celtic.

The Ireland international proved too hot for the Celtic defense to handle that night, with the clip above showing he was too sharp for Liam Scales to handle.

Ferguson scored two goals in just 0.81 xG against the Scottish giants, showing he can be a clinical finisher, and that’s backed up by his Premier League record with Brighton.

Prior to loan spells with West Ham and Roma, the 21-year-old number nine scored 13 Premier League goals in 10.30 xG for the Seagulls, according to Understat.

The Roma loanee, who was hailed as “absolute mustard” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has shown he can take his chances at an impressive rate at the highest level, in the Europa League against Celtic and in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t really worked out for him at Roma, with intense competition from high-quality strikers Artem Dovbyk and Paulo Dybala, but he has shown enough in his career so far to suggest he could be a phenomenal signing for Celtic.

Ferguson is a striker who has the finishing qualities to come in and take advantage of the high quality opportunities the Hoops have created for Kenny this season.

This means he could provide an instant improvement to his international teammate, who has wasted far too much in front of goal, providing Nancy with a new regular up front.

Related

Bad news for Scales: Celtic open negotiations to sign ‘huge’ star in January

Celtic have reportedly opened negotiations to sign a star in a deal that could spell bad news for Liam Scales.

If Celtic manage to strike a deal to sign Ferguson on loan and manage to keep Iheanacho fit for the second half of the season, Kenny may never get the chance to start again if he ends up being the third-choice option, which would be fair given his struggles this season.