Johnny Kenny transfer demand sent to Bolton Wanderers - Celtic deal a 'priority' | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers have been urged to prioritise the permanent signing of Johnny Kenny from Celtic this summer.

Bolton Wanderers are back in the Championship, having been down to League One and then to League Two amid financial ruin at the start of this decade, but they have returned to the second-tier.

Chairman and owner Sharon Brittain may have taken a bit longer to guide Wanderers back up to the Championship than she would have liked and planned for, but the very popular custodian of the club can now set in motion plans for this summer as Bolton prepare for the second division once again.

After a play-off semi-final loss to Barnsley in 2023 and then a play-off final defeat to Oxford United in 2024, Bolton, in their first full season under the management of Steven Schumacher, got themselves over the line.

The Whites defeated Stockport County at Wembley Stadium by four goals to one after a blitz in the final half an hour of a game that had been delicately poised and did appear to be one that County may even be shading.

The emotion and celebration around Bolton will continue for a while, but as the dust settles, the hard work of building a competitive squad for next season will begin – and there may well be quite a lot of work to do for Schumacher, Sporting Director Fergal Harkin and Head of Recruitment Jimmy Dickinson.

Bolton should prioritise the signing of Johnny Kenny

Up-front is where Bolton will likely begin their recruitment plan this summer, given the fact that they have plenty of loanees returning to their parent clubs, such as Mason Burstow and Marcus Forss, as well as wingers Ibrahim Cissoko, Rob Apter, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Amario Cozier-Duberry.

Johnny Kenny is another man at the club on a temporary basis and FLW’s Bolton Fan Pundit Liam O’Meara believes he should be prioritised this summer, while Stockport County striker Adama Sidibeh would also be an interesting target, given just how impressive the former St Johnstone man was in defeat for The Hatters.

Liam says: “I absolutely would like to see Bolton now go for Johnny Kenny on a permanent basis – I think that is the number one transfer priority.

“The combination between Sam Dalby and Johnny Kenny in the second-half of the season looked like a team and a combination that would cause Championship defences problems next season.

“I think he has taken to Bolton more than I think he thought he would do. So, would he consider the move with release clause options to maybe go on somewhere else? Yes, I think it works for everyone.

“In terms of Sidibeh at Stockport, I think I’ve had conversations with about six different people wondering if Bolton would have a look at him.

“I think it would be an interesting one, I just don’t see it as a particularly cheap move to get, but he did look a handful. He looks a really, really good player and I can see him playing in the Championship.”

Steven Schumacher has work to do for Bolton

Last summer, Steven Schumacher was granted a transformation and overhaul of his Bolton squad, with 14 new signings coming in after several high-profile first-teamers departed.

Then, in the winter, the revolving door continued to turn with seven more new signings as Bolton finally built a squad that was eventually capable of winning promotion.

Wanderers have a few contracts to sort out and decisions to make with George Johnston, who captained the eleven at Wembley in the absence of the injured Eoin Toal, set to be out of contract next month alongside Cyrus Christie, Jordi Osei-Tutu and Kyle Dempsey.

With that, some gaps in the squad, such as at centre-back and left-back even with Johnston staying, Bolton may be set for yet another very busy window, given the seven departing loanees.

Whether or not Bolton can keep hold of any of those loan stars, or perhaps whether they want to or not, remains to be seen but what is known is that, after the gloss of the weekend wears off, it will be a very busy summer for Steven Schumacher and his recruitment staff.