Jonjoe Kenny: Everton’s loan hopes Bundesliga return may bring some joy | Football news

It was the desire to play regularly that led Jonjoe Kenny of Everton, his childhood club, to the Bundesliga.

The loan change to Schalke has been a resounding success, with Kenny establishing himself as the best return option with head coach David Wagner.

On Saturday, his Everton teammates will be watching with interest as the Bundesliga resumes after a two-month break during the coronavirus blockade.

The disputed Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke will be played behind closed doors. It will be a strange environment, but Kenny hopes that the occasion will serve to lift the spirits of the fans.

“The fans make soccer,” he says. “The pace increases. When we are playing at home they are like another man on the field because they get us going.”

“But it’s a global thing, not just a soccer situation, so keeping fans away from the game is for their own safety, for everyone’s safety. I know they will be supporting at home and it will only bring a little bit of normalcy and joy in people’s lives. “

Isolated from his teammates and unable to return to his homeland, Kenny has been remarkably optimistic about experiencing the blockade in Germany.

“I tried to focus on staying fit, eating the right thing, going to bed at normal time, not three in the morning, and getting up in the middle of the day,” he adds.

“It was done brilliantly here, you weren’t allowed to go into stores without a mask, everyone was involved in it. Regardless of government rules, everyone was attached to it, so it was really cool to see that.”

It has been a long and measured process to return to the level of training that has now been allowed in Bundesliga clubs. After two weeks of home training, downloading fitness programs and riding miles on a bike machine, the players made a staggered return to their clubs.

“We started training in pairs and at first it was an awkward situation, but it was good to be back,” reveals Kenny.

“I wasn’t sure how they were going to organize a session with just two people, but the ones with two were the most difficult I have ever done. We trained, then others would come at different times. Little by little, he got better and better with the government’s guidelines. It was well rehearsed, the sessions were good, then it was divided into larger groups of four and then six, so the sessions increased.

“Obviously it will be two months for the day [since the league stopped] And when you come back from the preseason after six weeks, you feel it. Then the game will be a good test for everyone. It’s not just Schalke, the whole league is in the same situation, so everyone is in the same boat. “

Schalke has nine games left of the season to land a European spot. Kenny will have to make his own decisions after that, but for now he is fully focused on helping his current team. He has never been afraid to take steps into the unknown.

From his earliest childhood memories of playing soccer for Custy Lee Jones’ juniors in famed Scotland – Scottie, to the local – Road League where he played in an older group, there has been a desire to play whenever possible. At age nine, Kenny was seen by Everton while representing the Liverpool Schoolboys.

“I remember the day Everton came to me and said they wanted to put me on trial. The next day I had a game for my Sunday league team and I didn’t want to lose that game.”

Kenny was brought to trial at Everton by his proud father and uncle. He was so impressed that the Blues signed him up the same day. He made steady progress year after year and after loan periods in League One with Wigan Athletic and League Two with Oxford United, his Everton debut four years ago this week was the realization of a dream, but it also fueled his inner hunger.

“When you were a kid, you think ‘Just a game for Everton.’ But once you get one and then the buzz, the feeling you get, you just want more and more and more,” Kenny explains.

“It becomes a kind of addiction, wanting that feeling constantly, wanting to be part of the first team, like one of the guys with everyone who lives the life of the first team. It took me a couple more seasons to get into that, but one The time I was there, I loved how it went. “

Unable to evict club captain Seamus Coleman from former manager Marco Silva’s starting lineup, Kenny needed to look further last summer. Now Carlo Ancelotti will be watching with great interest as the winger lines up against Dortmund on Saturday afternoon. Kenny is optimistic about Everton’s future despite the series of false dawns that have emerged in recent seasons.

“You just look at the manager that Everton has brought in, he’s a natural winner. He’s handled great teams and players and won trophies wherever he has been. It was a great start, getting someone like the manager. And then you look at the players Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been on fire and I think he has more to come.

“He has become the main man he was always destined to become because of the type of player and person he is. And you can forget that Richarlison is only young, with Moise Kean, Tom Davies and Mason Holgate. You still have a good young core. , so it is not a very old equipment.

“And in the back room staff [director of football] Marcel Brands has been brilliant personally, to get me out on loan. Everyone is in a position where they can see that the club is looking to move forward. “

Kenny’s career is also on an upward trajectory, and he intends to savor the rest of the season at his temporary home.
“I have loved it from day one,” he concludes.

“The manager here is brilliant, I couldn’t speak more highly of him. When the games started in the preseason, I felt comfortable and once I got my own place and left the hotel I felt at home.”

Follow the return of football with Sky Sports

After almost two months away, the Bundesliga becomes the first major European league to return this weekend: you can follow all the action live on skysports.com.

Get your fix with minute-by-minute coverage and reporting on the weekend’s biggest games, starting with the Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke on Saturday, starting at 2.30 p.m.

Sunday follows the journey of league leaders Bayern Munich to Union Berlin, begins at 5 p.m., and on Monday night a game with a big impact on both ends of the table as Bayer Leverkusen, League champion of Champions, travels to Werder Bremen threatened by relegation. -off at 7.30pm.

See more of our interview with Jonjoe Kenny on Soccer Saturday at 3pm