Not just Nawrocki: Exciting Celtic star just made himself unsellable
da 888： Celtic played their final away game of the Scottish Premiership season on Wednesday night and secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Aberdeen.
da stake casino： Brendan Rodgers named a much-changed side and got the win thanks to goals from Maik Nawrocki, Hyun-jun Yang, Luke McCowan, Johnny Kenny, and Adam Idah.
It was a night for the rarely-seen Celtic players, including the likes of Viljami Sinisalo and Paulo Bernardo, and Nawrocki is certainly one of those who grasped his chance.
Why Rodgers should be impressed by Nawrocki
The Polish defender made just his third start of the Premiership campaign and caught the eye with an impressive display at the heart of the defence.
Playing on his favoured right side for the first time this term, Nawrocki completed an eye-catching 130 of his 136 attempted passes on the night and only lost possession nine times in total, as well as scoring the opener from a corner.
Defensively, the former Legia Warsaw star made five clearances, two blocks, and two interceptions to keep Aberdeen at bay, including one huge sliding block when facing a one-on-one in the box in the second half.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Rodgers should, therefore, have been impressed by his combination of composed play in possession and stoic defensive work, but the manager should have been encouraged by Johnny Kenny’s display in the centre-forward position.
Why Johnny Kenny is now unsellable
The young marksman had not had many opportunities to impress in the second half of the season, with just six substitute appearances in the league, and his lack of game time may have led to question marks over his future heading into the summer transfer window.
However, the 21-year-old striker was finally given a chance to show his quality from the start and showed why he should be unsellable this summer for the Hoops, with a performance that shows that he can be part of the first-team squad next season.
Celtic need another number nine option to compete with Idah and Daizen Maeda, and Kenny’s showing against Aberdeen suggests that he can be that man.
Vs Aberdeen
Johnny Kenny
Minutes
70
Shots on target
2
Goals
1
Passes completed
8/11
Duels won
3/4
Aerial duels won
3/3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Ireland U21 international scored with one of his two shots on target, with a well-placed header from McCowan’s cross, and showcased his physicality by winning all of his aerial duels.
Kenny scored 13 goals in 19 starts in the Irish Premier Division in 2024 on loan at Shamrock Rovers, and has now shown a glimpse of the kind of goalscoring quality he can bring to Celtic.
He is an exciting young striker with the physical qualities, as shown by his statistics against Aberdeen, and the goalscoring record to develop into a fine option for Rodgers, as proven by his performance on Wednesday.
Related Dream Jota replacement: Celtic line up move for "wonderful" £10m-rated star
Celtic could land a dream replacement for the injured Jota by signing this star.
Therefore, the club should not look to move him on this summer, despite his general lack of game time in the last few months, and the manager should, instead, make him a regular player off the bench and occasionally from the start.
