CELTIC CONFIDENTIAL: Brendan Rodgers risks losing this Euro hero if he keeps ignoring him… PLUS why Perth is being pencilled in for the title party

He sits joint third in this season’s UEFA Conference League scoring charts alongside the likes of Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku and Krzysztof Piatek of Istanbul Basaksehir.

He returned to Celtic from his swashbuckling loan stint at Shamrock Rovers with dreams of pitching in with more goals to help Celtic over the line in their procession towards the Scottish title.

But 21-year-old Irishman Johnny Kenny has since been afforded only 41 minutes of action across four games, with a further four occasions where he watched the action as an unused substitute.

For a prodigious young talent who was the talk of Europe and a wanted man in England during the January transfer window — not to mention back at Shamrock Rovers — it represents a distinct lack of ‘kicking-on’.

Of course, Celtic have not exactly been struggling up front, with Daizen Maeda excelling following the departure of Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes and Adam Idah still on the premises to offer his own impact when called upon.

But, with the destination of the league title long since up for debate and manager Brendan Rodgers having talked up Kenny’s credentials in the wake of his successful loan spell, there can be no doubt the player himself would have expected a little more time on the field.

Striker Kenny took the Europa Conference League by storm on loan at Shamrock Rovers 

Rodgers could risk losing the talented young Irishman if he does not get more game time

Many a youngster has grown frustrated by a lack of opportunities at Parkhead, with Mikey Johnston and Rocco Vata just two of the more recent Celtic ‘kids’ to have moved south and found the English Championship a land of opportunity when it comes to game time.

Kenny’s impact at elite level in Europe this season renders any debate about his ability a pointless exercise.

The concern now must be that if he continues to be an unused sub, while Rodgers continues to look the other way, the player will inevitably have to find a new home more receptive to letting him express his talents.

Kenny’s impact with Shamrock Rovers — who narrowly lost out on a place in the Conference League’s last 16 after an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Norwegian side Molde in the striker’s absence — will be remembered for years to come in South Dublin. He now deserves a chance to build on his exploits.

Where Celtic could win it… if Rangers don’t blow it first!

Such is Celtic’s domination of Scottish football that the question at this time of year is not so much whether they will win the title as when.

The Parkhead side have won the championship in 13 of the last 14 seasons, failing only in 2021 when Steven Gerrard’s Rangers thwarted Celtic’s historic bid for 10 in a row.

Quite often, the Parkhead side are so comfortably ahead that the only remaining suspense surrounds where and on what date the deal will be sealed.

It’s possible that champions Celtic could win the title at McDiarmid Park this season

Could it be before the split, which would reduce the last five fixtures to a battle for European places? Might it be against Rangers, a nightmare scenario that the SPFL are keen to avoid for security reasons?

After last weekend’s round of games, in which Celtic beat St Mirren and Rangers lost to Motherwell, Brendan Rodgers’ side moved 16 points ahead of their great rivals with just nine games left.

Which means that Celtic can guarantee themselves the title by winning their next three league games. The first is at home to Rangers, the second at home to Hearts and the third away to St Johnstone.

So the date around which a green ring is pencilled on the Celtic calendar is April 6, one week before the split. The venue is McDiarmid Park and the opponents are a team they have beaten 4-0 and 6-0 already this season.

Sky Sports have already announced that they will be in Perth to cover it.

Of course, it may turn out to be later than that and, if we are being honest, it may even be sooner. These calculations are based on the assumption that Rangers will beat Dundee at Dens Park on March 29. The way the Ibrox side are playing right now, you wouldn’t back them to beat anybody, never mind a club who are fighting for their Premiership lives.

Contrasting fortunes of South Korean pair

The two South Korean players who signed for Celtic just after Brendan Rodgers returned in 2023 seem to be on contrasting career paths.

While one is finally making an impact at the club after a year-and-a-half of patience and hard work, the other is a long way from fulfilling his Parkhead dream.

Yang was sensational when he emerged from bench to score twice against St Mirren

South Korean team-mate Kwon has fallen off the radar during loan spell with Hibernian

Kwon made a promising start with Easter Road side but is no longer guaranteed a game

Yang Hyun-jun has taken a while to adapt to the demands of playing in Glasgow, but the 23-year-old winger has shown in recent games that he is growing as a person and a player.

Having caught the eye as a substitute against Aberdeen last midweek – when he scored Celtic’s fourth goal in a 5-1 victory – Yang went one better with a brace in their 5-2 win against St Mirren last Saturday. The score was 2-2 when he came off the bench.

All the signs are that Yang is settling in at last. He enjoyed a laugh and a joke with his team-mates at full-time. And Rodgers suggested in jest that the player’s great leap forward could be attributed to the presence in Scotland of his girlfriend.

While Yang is finding his feet at first-team level, the same cannot be said of Kwon Hyeok-kyu, who joined Celtic at the same time as his compatriot and, like Yang, signed a five-year contract.

The defensive midfielder, who had been playing second-tier football in South Korea, has still to make an appearance for Celtic, having spent over a year away on loan.

First there was a six-month stint at St Mirren, where he fared well enough. Then came a season-long deal with Hibs, where he is currently spending most of his time on the bench.

He has made 13 starts for the Edinburgh club, but most were during Hibs’ poor start to the season. As David Gray’s side have turned it around, Kwon has become a more peripheral figure.

The former South Korean youth international will be at Parkhead on Sunday for Hibs’ Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against Celtic. Ineligible to play against his parent club, he will be restricted to a watching brief.

There is time yet for Kwon to establish himself in Celtic’s first-team squad but, right now, that feels like a distant prospect.

Hibs to bring biggest travelling support for seven years

Not least among the charms that give the Scottish Cup its enduring appeal is the SFA rule that entitles visiting clubs to 20 per cent of the tickets for any given tie.

The host club’s obligation to make as much as a fifth of their stadium available, if requested, comes as a refreshing change to the weekly grind in which away fans are too often squeezed out.

Hibs look set to bring up to 7,000 supporters to Celtic Park for Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie

The Easter Road side are flying high in the league and pose a real threat to Celtic in the Cup

It means that this Sunday’s quarter-final between Celtic and Hibs should be quite a spectacle, with the Edinburgh club asking for — and receiving — up to 7,000 tickets for the away end.

That would be the biggest travelling support to visit Celtic’s ground since 2018, when they and Rangers still had an agreement to admit around 7,000 away fans to each Old Firm derby.

The catch for Hibs is that they must pay for all their tickets, even if they don’t sell them, but it will be a surprise if they are not snapped up amid the growing euphoria around the Edinburgh club.

A 15-game unbeaten run has culminated in three straight league victories, against Celtic, Dundee United and Hearts, with the last of those taking David Gray’s side into third place.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the club who were bottom of the Premiership as recently as December. If the form book is any guide, they will make their presence felt at Celtic Park — as will their supporters.

Why the January window ISN’T that difficult after all

It seems inevitable that any time the subject of the winter transfer window is raised, any manager will tell you it’s a notoriously difficult time of year in which to do business.

This seems particularly pronounced at Celtic. Some 14 months ago, the club effectively issued an apology when the arrival of Nicolas Kuhn and the loan signing of Adam Idah were the sum of the club’s incomings.

Although Jeffrey Schlupp came in this year, the failure to secure an immediate replacement for Rennes-bound Kyogo Furuhashi was again perplexing.

Yet you don’t have to go back that far to find demonstrable evidence that acquiring quality players in January is not quite as difficult as is being made out.

Jeffrey Schlupp has only just arrived but is proving a solid signing for the Parkhead club 

Reo Hatate has turned out to be one of Celtic’s genuinely top class January arrivals

Daizen Maeda was another who was brought to Celtic during the winter transfer window

Nicolas Kuhn did not impress when he first arrived 14 months ago but is now a Celtic star

At the midway point in season 2021-22, under Ange Postecoglou, Celtic signed five players.

There was definitely promise in Yosuke Ideguchi, but the man who cost £850,000 from Gamba Osaka had a brutal run of injuries.

Also arriving was Reo Hatate from Kawasaki Frontale for £1.4million. The midfielder has been a huge success and may well move for around £10m to the EPL this summer.

Daizen Maeda came in initially on loan from Yokohama Marinos. Three years later, with 26 goals to his name, he’s the talk of the Bayern Munich dressing room.

Matt O’Riley came in later that month after a £1.5m move from MK Dons. He was sensational at Parkhead and moved to Brighton in the summer for £25m.

So much for a difficult window. Three years on, the benefits of doing your homework and planning ahead are manifest both on the park and in the club’s strong financial figures.