Although the number of English youngsters taking their trade on the continent is increasing with each passing year, not many would have expected Jonjoe Kenny to be one of the names to take the leap of the faith, and even fewer would have predicted the Evertonian to flourish.
Yet that has just been the case for the Merseyside youngster at Schalke this season, who under former Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner, has been a key player for the Bundesliga side in the early stages of the campaign, with Kenny recently winning the league’s Rookie of the Month award for August.
And in a recent interview with The Athletic, the 22-year-old defender has highlighted that although he still loves Everton, the club he has been at since the age of nine, he can’t thank Director of Football Marcel Brands enough for allowing him to move to the Bundesliga club for the year.
Kenny said: “I love Everton. They’re my club and have been since I was nine. Marcel Brands has been amazing for me. He texted me the other day, after my goal. I can’t thank him enough for what he did, getting me this move. He wanted me to go out and play football and he stuck to his word. He’s one of the best in the business at what he does.”
The England U-21’s success in Germany has been a surprising success, with the right-back scoring one and assisting another in his four games for the Ruhr-based club as numbers from Transfermarkt show, yet Kenny’s success away from England is seemingly a sign that the defender is finding his place in football after an indifferent few seasons in the Everton first-team.
Despite making 40 appearances for the Toffees as numbers from Transfermarkt show, Kenny has never seemed too settled for Premier League football, showing signs of insecurities in his game and not rarely being the standout man on the pitch because of it.
With Schalke, though, the youngster is finding his confidence, which no doubt has led to this impressive upturn of good performances as well as impacting the game in a meaningful way.
This loan spell in Germany is seemingly the making of Kenny, who can realistically return to Everton next year as a new man, and a player ready to take the starting right-back spot with both hands.