Celtic star Johnny Kenny will be thrilled as Martin O'Neill deal agreed
Johnny Kenny is surely in line for more opportunities at Celtic next season now that Martin O'Neill has returned on a permanent basis.
O'Neill guided Celtic to a Premiership and Scottish Cup double last month as he completed a dream return as interim boss.
The 74-year-old managed the Hoops over two spells last term in between Wilfried Nancy's ill-fated stint at the helm.
Robbie Keane looked to be the board's first choice to succeed him as permanent boss, but O'Neill has now returned to be appointed on a one-year deal following such a successful interim spell.
O'Neill chose to loan Republic of Ireland striker Kenny out in the winter window, but seems likely to trust him to make an impact next term.
Kenny has spoken publicly about the positive conversations that he has held with O'Neill before and during his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers.
He even scored regularly under the 74-year-old before heading to League One and will surely be in line to stay in his first-team plans for now on.
Johnny Kenny is clearly well-liked by Martin O'Neill despite loan decision
Kenny struggled for minutes at the start of the season under Brendan Rodgers, but scored his maiden Premiership brace in O'Neill's first game back in charge against Falkirk.
Six more goal contributions followed before the winter window, as he still failed to nail down a regular starting berth but was given ample chances by the interim Hoops boss.
Kenny went out on loan to Bolton in February and confirmed in March that he had spoke to O'Neill before leaving, as he insisted that he would not stand in the way of the young striker getting more minutes.
Kenny insinuated that O'Neill did not really want him to leave Parkhead, but several attacking additions meant that he had to go to stand a chance of staying in the Ireland squad for their World Cup play-offs.
The 23-year-old impressed at Bolton as he struck six goals and three assists in 14 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury in May as they eventually won promotion.
He confirmed last month that he had been in contact with O'Neill during his loan spell, saying: "When I got injured, Martin rang me. We had a two or three-minute conversation. It meant a lot to me for him to take a few minutes out of his day to see how I was."
O'Neill clearly rates Kenny and wants the best for him going forward, and after such a strong loan spell away, the young striker is surely in line for a return to the Celtic first-team fold next term.
What is Celtic's striker situation ahead of next season?
Sources have previously revealed to Football Insider that Celtic are open to selling Kenny this summer, but that seems unlikely now that O'Neill is their permanent boss.
Junior Adamu and Tomas Cvancara were both signed in January as Kenny was forced out, but neither are set to stay at the club after tough respective loan spells.
Daizen Maeda is also likely to leave, meaning O'Neill's current strike force for next term is set to be made up of Kenny, Callum Osmand and Shin Yamada.
The Ireland international is the most proven of all three of those forwards, so letting him leave would make little sense given his close relationship with O'Neill.