Johnny Kenny has everything bar that elite-level technical polish but that will come

And while others may have taken a backward step in the increasingly crowded striker stakes at Parkhead, Kenny is certainly staking his claim with performances full of intent and full of belief.

“I want to go out every day in front of the manager and make a claim for the position,” Kenny said after the game, as reported by Daily Record.

Kenny has had a quietly impressive pre-season. While Callum Osmand, has seen his minutes evaporate — not featuring at all against the Magpies — Kenny has seized the opportunity. He’s scored, pressed aggressively and impressively – and shown an improving understanding of what Brendan Rodgers wants from a Celtic forward.

It is clear this is a striker who sees himself staying at Celtic. The Irishman’s words show a player not content with a fringe role.

“There’s going to be a lot of rotation, but I want to be in there chipping in with goals for this amazing club,” he added.

There’s no lack of competition, of course. Adam Idah, a fellow Irishman and £9 million signing, looms large in this equation. Kenny speaks warmly of Idah — “us Irish look after each other” — but the underlying tone is arguably one of rivalry rather than deference. Kenny wants minutes. Whether those come at Celtic Park is the question.

With Daizen Maeda expected to shift wide, until January at least, due to Jota’s long-term absence, and the lack of natural wingers in the squad, the striker pool looks less crowded on the surface.

But that’s deceptive. Shin Yamada’s arrival — he was paraded pre-kickoff at the weekend — and rumours of further forward reinforcements suggest the path to regular starts could soon be cluttered again.

Rodgers is a manager who values intensity, work ethic, and the willingness to learn — traits Kenny appears to embody.

“The manager has been brilliant with me,” said the former Sligo Rovers man, “giving me the opportunity to play against big opposition. I just want to take it and learn every day.”

The learning is evidently happening — but is that enough? Kenny is a player who seems to have everything bar that elite-level technical polish. Can he develop it at Celtic by training daily with the best? Or is a season-long loan to a club like Falkirk, where he’d play regularly in a system not dissimilar to Rodgers’, the more sensible move?

If he signs a new contract, a loan wouldn’t signal failure — it would show Celtic’s belief in his long-term potential. But Kenny might argue he’s ready now. A goal against Newcastle, missed chance accepted, shows a striker willing to shoulder responsibility and fight for his place.

Ultimately, Celtic’s next moves in the transfer market will dictate Kenny’s immediate future. But he’s not waiting for the opportunity to be handed to him. He’s going out and trying to take it. And fair play to him for that.

Read this – The backstory to Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…