Preston push to beat Bolton and West Brom to £3m Celtic agreement by 11pm deadline | OneFootball

Celtic striker Johnny Kenny looks to be heading to the EFL before the transfer window slams shut

Celtic striker Johnny Kenny is of interest to a number of Championship clubs, but it appears to be Preston North End who are in pole position to land the Irishman before the 11pm transfer deadline.

The Lilywhites have missed out on re-signing Southampton striker Cameron Archer, who had been linked back to Deepdale for a number of weeks after half a season on loan in January 2022 - the 24-year-old is headed to French side Auxerre on loan instead, which will see him re-unite with his former Saints boss Will Still.

That means PNE have had to seek extra fire-power late on in the summer window, with another centre-forward on top of a potential loan move for Fulham teenager Jonah Kusi-Asare explored.

Preston North End have strong interest in out of favour Celtic centre-forward

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And it appears that North End could be going all in for Celtic forward Johnny Kenny, with Irish journalist Dan McDonnell claiming that they are showing strong interest in the 23-year-old in the final hours of the window, and the Scottish Sun claim that they've launched a £3 million bid.

The two-cap Republic of Ireland international has dropped down the pecking order under Michael O'Neill at Parkhead, especially after the addition of Kasper Høgh, and could now depart Glasgow despite having three years left on his contract.

Kenny of course had a loan stint with Bolton Wanderers - then of League One - in the second half of the 2025-26 season, where he scored six times in 14 appearances, but he was to miss the entirety of the Trotters' play-off winning campaign due to injury, which cut short his time in the North West.

Bolton are still reported to have an interest in Kenny, but they were focused instead on a move for Gent's Max Dean - which now looks to be off after the two clubs could not agree to the structure of a transfer, as per Pete O'Rourke.

Whether that now brings Bolton back to the table remains to be seen, but McDonnell claims that both West Brom and Blackburn Rovers have showed interest in Kenny too in recent times - it looks to be PNE though that want to steal a march on their competition in their quest for a new centre-forward.

Johnny Kenny to Preston North End would make a lot of sense for all parties

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North End fans will still be hurting from the news that Archer has opted to move to France - the general consensus was that he would've been a popular signing, but they now have to move quickly to secure a Milutin Osmajic replacement.

It's been over a week since the Montenegrin departed for Serie A outfit Genoa, and PNE are yet to secure a replacement which is much-needed - Swedish striker Jusef Erabi has scored twice in all competitions since arriving on loan from Genk, but second in-command right now is 17-year-old George Gryba, who doesn't look ready for EFL football yet.

If Kusi-Asare arrives from Fulham then that is another striker who hasn't proven he knows where the back of the net is, having never scored a senior goal, but Kenny does have some goals under his belt, netting seven times in 32 matches for Celtic and 26 goals in 76 Shamrock Rovers outings.

If a deal can be done for Kenny to take him to Deepdale, especially permanently, then he could fit the requirements that Paul Heckingbottom is asking for.