Kenny told to improve in attack – Can he become Everton’s starting right-back?

Jonjoe Kenny has reiterated how much he is enjoying his loan spell in Germany ahead of the Bundesliga beginning this weekend.

Kenny joined Schalke on a season-long loan earlier this summer, with Everton hopeful that the right-back would get more first-team minutes under his belt in Gelsenkirchen than he was on Merseyside.

Talking on Schalke’s official website, Kenny repeated that he is loving the beginning of his life in Germany and that he is excited for the season to get started, saying:

It’s going to be an unbelievable experience for me this season. I can hardly wait for it to start.

Kenny played the full 90 minutes in Schalke’s 5-0 DFB-Pokal win over SV Drochtersen/Assel on Saturday, David Wagner is trying to get the boyhood Evertonian to partner his defensive instincts with more attacking threat.

Kenny explained how his responsibilities have changed under former Huddersfield manager Wagner, saying:

I need to create more chances for my teammates. That is now a part of my job. I want to do that as much and as well as I can.

I am loving the German life. My family is also here and they also like Germany a lot. It’s going really well and I feel at home here.

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It is still unclear where Jonjoe fits into Everton’s first-team plans in the long-term, but hearing that he is already enjoying his football in Germany is a big positive, as is hearing that Wagner is getting him to focus on balancing his defensive duties with getting forward.

Everton need a long-term successor for Seamus Coleman and while the club could sign a foreign full-back in the same essence as the Lucas Digne deal, it would be more sweet to see a boyhood fan nail down that spot.

If Kenny is ever going to earn that spot, he needs to succeed this season and at the very least it seems like he is getting off on the right foot.