Celtic can repair Jota blow by unleashing younger star

Will Brandan Rodgers’ Celtic safe a sixth treble in simply 9 seasons this month?

On Saturday, the Hoops secured a fourth successive Scottish Premiership title, profitable 5-0, with each Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah bagging braces.

Victory over Aberdeen on the finish of the month will rubber stamp yet one more treble, with the Bhoys having now equalled Rangers‘ document of 55 prime division titles.

Nonetheless, that victory at Tannadice did come at a value, so ought to Rodgers change Jota with Celtic’s “completely sensible” teenager?

The newest on Jota damage at Celtic

Jota performed a key function in Celtic’s opener on Saturday, finally taking place as a Ryan Pressure personal aim, nevertheless, simply 5 minutes later, the Portuguese winger was hobbling off, and that might be the final we see of him for some time.

A report by the Scottish Solar claims Jota will likely be sidelined ‘for a number of months’, probably even lacking the beginning of subsequent season, having been noticed on crutches and in a knee brace on the title celebrations.

Rodgers is but to formally reveal any prognosis, stating “he simply felt his knee… we’re taking a look at whether or not his meniscus is a bit bit sore… we’ll see within the subsequent couple of days.”

This may clearly be a blow, though Celtic have discovered scoring targets no nice issue this season, because the desk beneath outlines.

Simply two extra targets this season, which you’d need to be assured that Celtic will rating, would make this their highest-scoring marketing campaign since Rodgers’ first yr in cost, already their greatest when it comes to goals-per-game of the twenty first century.

So, with the Premiership title already wrapped up, now could be certainly the time for Rodgers to experiment, thereby giving his “completely sensible” teenager a possibility?

Celtic’s subsequent younger sensation

Johnny Kenny joined Celtic from Sligo Rovers again in January 2022 however, to this point, has made simply 5 appearances for the membership, totalling 66 minutes, nonetheless but to begin.

Nonetheless, he has gained loads of first-team expertise out on mortgage, because the desk beneath outlines.

Kenny spent the final two calendar years on mortgage again within the League of Eire with Shamrock Rovers, scoring 26 instances for the Hoops, 20 of which got here throughout a really productive 2024, notably bagging 5 in six Convention League outings, serving to the Irish aspect attain the knockout section.

He was named the membership’s younger participant of the yr twice, whereas Jacek Kulig of Soccer Expertise Scout described his kind for the Dublin-based outfit as “excellent”.

Following Shamrock Rovers’ win over Borac Banja Luka in December, Kenny confirmed he would return to Celtic, hoping to “present Brendan in coaching” what he’s able to.

After making his debut in opposition to Ross County a month later, Rodgers described him as “completely sensible”, though the 21-year-old has barely been seen since, an unused substitute on 9 events.

Thus, with the Premiership title secured and Jota sidelined, what higher time for Rodgers to search out out whether or not or not Kenny might be a helpful asset to his staff?

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