Celtic are 'days' away from completing the signing of striker Johnny Kenny from Sligo Rovers, according to The Sligo Champion (via The Irish Independent).

The lowdown: Celtic busy

Celtic have already made three signings this month, recruiting Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate from the J1 League.

Kenny, who's scored three goals in as many appearances for the Republic of Ireland at Under-19 level, looks set to be the fourth.

The 18-year-old frontman has caught the eye after bagging 12 goals in his 34 senior outings for Rovers.

There could also be outgoings at Parkhead in a busy January window, with Vasilis Barkas and Conor Hazard some of those expected to depart.

The latest: Hoops win the race

According to the report, Celtic look to have won the battle with Scottish Premiership rivals Hibernian for Kenny's signature.

Hibs made a 'huge' effort to land Kenny, inviting him to a game at Easter Road last month.

But he appears to have opted for Celtic, who will duly pay his €150,000 release clause as well as add-ons.

The verdict: Exciting long-term addition

Kenny may be part of the reserve set-up initially. He's still very young, and the step-up in quality is considerable - the Scottish Premiership is the ninth-best league in Europe, while the top flight in Ireland ranks 40th, so it's hard to envisage the teenager making the immediate step up into Ange Postecoglou's senior options.

Celtic fans, then, may need to show patience - he's not being signed to make an immediate impact like the J1 League trio - but the club are clearly convinced of his potential having raced in front of Hibs to secure a deal.

Indeed, there's apparently been 'massive interest' in Kenny ever since last season, when he made his first-team debut for Rovers, so perhaps the Hoops' recruitment team are onto a winner in the long run.

In other news, Celtic apparently want this deal 'wrapped up'.