STEPHEN KENNY HAS one new arrival confirmed for the start of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against France later this month, and the Republic of Ireland manager remains hopeful of adding an exciting player to the fold too.
While it was announced last week that John O’Shea has joined the coaching staff following his time with the Under-21s, reports emerged yesterday that Celtic winger Mikey Johnston had switched allegiances from Scotland.
The 23-year-old is currently on loan with Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese top flight in a bid to kickstart a career that has been hampered by injury.
Johnston, whose grandfather is from Derry, made his Celtic debut under Brendan Rodgers as a teenager five years ago but left Glasgow in search of regular game time ahead of this campaign.
After discussions with Kenny in recent months, he has opted to switch to Ireland having first represented Scotland’s Under-15s at the age of 13.
Johnston featured eight times for their Under-21s but hadn’t been capped at senior level. Kenny confirmed earlier today that the paperwork has yet to be finalised with FIFA and that the FAI had initially wanted to hold off any announcement until the transfer had been ratified.
“We’ll have to assess if he’s in the next squad but I expect him to be important and very much be involved in the campaign ahead,” the Ireland boss said.
“He has attributes that, to be honest, we probably don’t have in the squad. A winger of that ilk, a right footed left winger who can dribble and take people inside or outside and has a good final pass.
“He played in four Scottish Cup finals before he was 22, two Scottish Cups and two League Cup Finals. He’s played a lot of big games and some good European games for Celtic.
“He’s someone who has a lot of talent but unfortunately he missed out for a full year injured, he had a calf operation and lost a full year of his career, which was difficult for him,” Kenny explained.
“Celtic signed a lot of players and they’ve obviously been very successful, so he’s had a period at Vitoria where he has played the majority of games.
“It’s a good league, the Portuguese league, a high standard. We can’t expect too much, too soon from him.
It’s going to be one over a period of time where he gets a full season under his belt, and over the next year or two I’m sure he’ll really excel because he has lots of natural talent
“He still has improvements, but it’s difficult for any young player to come through at Celtic because the standard is so high. Then you get an injury like that, it’s difficult. He’s played a lot of big games for one so young and hopefully he can improve again.”
While Callum Robinson and Enda Stevens have been ruled out of the friendly with Latvia and Euro qualifier with France through injury, Kenny has bolstered his coaching staff following the ascension of O’Shea from the Under-21s.
Eight months after John Eustace left to take the Birmingham City job, the Ireland centurion has filled an important role he was first considered for previously.
“But he was in the middle of his Pro Licence and he wasn’t quite ready for that,” Kenny, who spent four days with O’Shea when he became a first-team coach there, said.
“Certainly he’s further down his coaching journey and is happier himself. He will be a good addition to the team. It was important that when John Eustace left, we didn’t want to rush an appointment.
“We wanted somebody who would fit in seamlessly with the coaching team and with the players. The difficulty for John [O’Shea] was that he played with some players who are still in the squad. But I don’t see that as a difficulty. They all have huge respect for him.
“He’s had experience with the younger players as well. We met as a staff a few week ago in Birmingham. We all got on really well. John has great humility as a person. He will be a good addition.
“When I spoke to him, he said this is what he definitely wants to do and felt it was the next step for him.”