By Elliott Cuff

17th Feb, 2021 | 6:13pm

Report: Celtic can't afford to buy Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny

According to The Times, Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny won’t be able to make his temporary move to Celtic permanent in the summer due to his loan club’s lack of transfer resources.

The 23-year old full-back joined the Hoops in January on a short-term loan deal that is set to expire at the end of the season.

Since moving to Glasgow, Kenny has played the duration in four of Celtic’s Premiership fixtures, however a permanent move doesn’t appear likely in the summer.

According to The Times, Kenny’s wages are simply too high for Celtic to invest in a permanent transfer.

Kenny’s long-term future as an Everton player is currently up in the air, with the right-back falling behind both Seamus Coleman and Mason Holgate in the pecking order at Goodison Park.

Defender on borrowed time

Jonjoe Kenny enjoyed mild success with Schalke in the Bundesliga last season, playing 31 times in the league for David Wagner’s side, and the full-back would have hoped to translate that success to game time on Merseyside this season.

However, while that looked to be a possibility at one point, Kenny quickly fell down the pecking order under Ancelotti, only once managing more than five minutes in the Premier League this season.

With Seamus Coleman approaching the end of his career, Everton will surely target a signature signing to replace the Irishman, and with Kenny almost 24 it looks as if he has missed the boat.

Ben Godfrey’s versatility also seemed to put the final nail in Kenny’s coffin this season, with the summer signing able to play in any position across the back-line, including right-back on occasion.

Whether Kenny does return to Celtic in the summer or not, it does seem more than likely that he’ll be shipped out somewhere as Ancelotti looks to cut down the wage bill and trim his squad.

In other Everton news, here’s why we believe that Moise Kean’s success for Paris Saint-Germain can only be positive news for Everton.