Millwall join Bolton Wanderers in race to seal Celtic transfer agreement | OneFootball

The London club have entered the chase to join the Republic of Ireland forward, which could create a problem for promoted Bolton Wanderers.

Bolton Wanderers were greatly helped in their bid for promotion from League One last season by Celtic loanee Johnny Kenny, but they're not alone in wanting him for 2026-27.

The 2025-26 season ended triumphantly for Bolton Wanderers, with a 4-1 play-off final win against Stockport County securing their return to the Championship following an absence of seven years.

And one of the key players throughout their promotion run-in was Republic of Ireland forward Johnny Kenny, who joined the club on loan at the end of the January 2026 transfer window and scored six goals in 14 games for the club to help seal their return.

Bolton had been hoping to make that signature permanent this summer as they seek to strengthen in preparation for their return to the second tier, but they now face competition for the striker from a club who only narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League at the end of last season.

Millwall interest in Johnny Kenny is a headache for Bolton Wanderers

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Journalist Alan Nixon reports on his Patreon this morning that Millwall have joined the chase for Johnny Kenny. He confirms that Bolton had been expecting a "clear run" on making his signature permanent, and that Celtic will be open to the 23-year-old, who's been capped twice for his national team, if they can find a replacement for him.

Millwall themselves ended last season in third place in the Championship, and were in the race for automatic promotion themselves until the final weekend of the season before missing out to Ipswich Town and then losing the play-off semi-final, with a 2-0 aggregate loss to Hull City, who went on to be promoted themselves after beating Middlesbrough in the final.

No transfer fee has yet been mentioned in relation to the move, but Fotmob rate him as being worth in the region of £850,000, and with three years still to run on his Celtic contract, a bidding war could easily push his final sale price to well above that level.

What fans are saying about Johnny Kenny

Johnny Kenny had an impressive season, and he's provoked a fair amount of common online. This Celtic fan felt that a permanent move to the Championship was just reward for an impressive young player.

But this Bolton fan remains confident that Kenny will be a Trotter by the start of next season:

2025-26 was a breakout season for Johnny Kenny, and Bolton now face strong opposition for his signature

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Johnny Kenny had a breakout 2025-26 season with promotion to the Championship with Bolton Wanderers coming on top of making his debut for the Republic of Ireland. Having been first called up to their squad for the round of international fixtures at the start of September, he made his full debut for them in their sensational 3-2 World Cup qualifier win at Hungary in November.

After starting his career with his local club Sligo Rovers, Kenny moved to Celtic Park in 2022. He's spent four spells out on loan since then, first with the Glasgow club Queens Park, and then twice with his hometown club, before Bolton swooped to take him on loan until the end of the 2025-26 season as they sought a play-off place in League One.

That mission was duly accomplished, and Kenny was an impressive performer during his stay at The Toughsheet Community Stadium. But one of the costs of success can be the attention of others, and Kenny's performances have alerted Millwall, who recently lost Barry Bannan, who's returned to Sheffield Wednesday.

Kenny himself now may face something of a dilemma. Having only narrowly missed out on a place in the Premier League at the end of 2025-26, Millwall might be considered something of a step up from Bolton.

But there are few guarantees that he would secure regular first-team football at The Den, and Bolton Wanderers could offer him better prospects of first-team football as well as a more familiar playing environment. It will be a fascinating chase for a player whose stars really aligned during last season.