Celtic romped to a 5-1 win over Aberdeen in their final away match of the Scottish Premiership campaign on Wednesday night, despite playing a much-changed side.
Brendan Rodgers opted to hand opportunities to several players in the comprehensive victory for the Hoops, including the likes of Viljami Sinisalo, Paulo Bernardo, Luke McCowan, Johnny Kenny, and Maik Nawrocki, among others.
Nawrocki made just his third appearance in the Premiership this season and scored the opening goal in the match with a fine header, and he made five clearances, two blocks, and two interceptions.
Rodgers was also quick to point out how well the Polish colossus performed in possession, as the boss said: “I thought he (Nawrocki) played through the lines really, really well, defended well, and obviously, he was very dangerous in the box.”
The former Legia Warsaw central defender was not the only rarely-seen star who caught the eye for the Northern Irish head coach, though, as Irish striker Johnny Kenny made his first senior start for the club and impressed against the Dons.
Why Johnny Kenny could be a future star for Celtic
The Celtic manager was “pleased” for the 21-year-old centre-forward after the reserve striker scored his first goal for the club with a fine header in the second half.
Rodgers said: “Johnny, we’re also pleased for because he works so hard, he is a natural goalscorer. I think when you see his movement for the goal, it’s so, so good and everyone was delighted for him.”
The young attacker did brilliantly to get across his man to redirect the header into the opposite corner from Luke McCowan’s cross to make it 4-1 on the night.
That was one of the five shots that Kenny managed against Aberdeen, which shows that he provided a constant threat in front of the opposition goal, whilst it was one of two shots on target for the forward.
The Celtic striker, who had only made six substitute appearances in the league prior to that game, had not made a single first-team appearance for the club prior to his return from Shamrock Rovers in January.
Kenny did, however, showcase his potential whilst on loan in his home country, with a return of 26 goals and eight assists in 76 matches for Shamrock Rovers in all competitions.
Appearances
6
xG
3.78
Goals
5
Big chances missed
1
Big chances created
1
Assists
1
As you can see in the table above, the Irishman caught the eye in the Conference League during the first half of this season, scoring five goals in six matches, before his return to Celtic at the turn of the year.
Kenny is a young talent who has shown potential to shine in the future for the Hoops, given his performance against Aberdeen and his goalscoring record in Ireland, but he is also 22 this summer and potentially at a crossroads in his career, where he will have to decide whether it is worth fighting for a spot at Parkhead or going elsewhere to be guaranteed regular game time.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Meanwhile, Celtic could unearth an even bigger talent than the 21-year-old Irishman by continuing to integrate 17-year-old Sean McArdle into the first-team.
Why Sean McArdle could be an even bigger talent than Johnny Kenny
It took Kenny until the age of 21 to make his senior bow for the Hoops. McArdle, on the other hand, has made his Scottish Premiership debut before turning 18.
The teenage talent has come off the bench in the last two matches, since the club were confirmed as champions of the division, as Rodgers has decided that he is ready to play in the first-team.
McArdle made his debut against Hibernian at Parkhead last week before coming on for the final nine minutes against Aberdeen away from home on Wednesday night.
The 17-year-old Scottish ace was praised by Rodgers after his debut, as the head coach said: “I like him, he’s got decent legs, he’s got a nice football brain, left-sided, he’s got culture when he plays, and now he’s got the best role models you can have in some of the players that we have here, like Callum and these guys, to learn from.”
Minutes
9
Passes completed
11/12
Shots
1
Shots on target
1
Chances created
1
Dribbles completed
1/1
Duels won
1/1
Possession lost
1x
As you can see in the table above, McArdle followed up on that praise by delivering an impressive cameo off the bench against Aberdeen, completing 92% of his chances and showing a few nice touches, creating one chance in the process.
After that display, Rodgers praised the teenager once again: “Yes, I liked him when he came on. I like the young players, and any player that you play for Celtic, you have to have personality. And you could see at 17, he comes into the game, he takes the ball, he passes the ball. He’s got a wee edge to him as well that I like.”
The manager was not the only person impressed by McArdle, though, as teammate and experienced midfielder McCowan described him as a “great” player.
This shows that he has gained respect from the manager and at least one of the senior players in the first-team with his performances in training and in Premiership matches, despite being just 17.
McArdle, who scored five goals in 25 Lowland League games this season, could, therefore, be an even bigger talent than Kenny because he has already made more progress than the Irishman did at his age.
Kenny is five years older than the Scottish midfielder and only made his Premiership debut for Celtic at the start of this year, whilst the teenager has played twice in the division already and could establish himself as a regular in the coming years, potentially before he gets to the age the Irish striker is at now.
Dream Jota replacement: Celtic line up move for "wonderful" £10m-rated star
Celtic could land a dream replacement for the injured Jota by signing this star.
ByDan Emery
To make his breakthrough at such a young age, whilst earning plaudits from Rodgers and McCowan, speaks to his potential and suggests that he could be a future star for the Hoops for many years to come if he continues his progression.