Rangers loanee Kai Kennedy made his Inverness Caledonian Thistle debut on Saturday afternoon in a Championship fixture against Ayr United.
Kennedy is highly rated at Ibrox and broke into the first-team squad last season following strong performances at Colts level.
The teenager made his senior debut as a substitute in a Scottish Cup clash against Stranraer in January and was tipped for big things.
A disagreement between Kennedy and Steven Gerrard over the youngster’s playing time reportedly prompted contract negotiations to fall apart [Daily Record], though, and he signed for Caley Thistle on a short-term loan deal earlier this month [ictfc.com].
First up for the winger, though, was a pair of friendlies for Scotland U19s against England at St George’s Park.
Kennedy started the first fixture on 8 October but the match was abandoned in the first half when Scotland manager, Billy Stark, returned a positive Covid-19 test.
As a result, the Gers loanee was forced to wait before being permitted to join up with his new club.
Kennedy only met his teammates for the first time on Friday afternoon, on the eve of the Championship fixture against Ayr United.
It was enough time for him to convince manager, John Robertson, that he was ready for a spot in his matchday squad, though, and he was named on the bench at the Caledonian Stadium.
He replaced James Keatings in the 71st minute with his side trailing 1-0 but he didn’t suffer defeat on debut.
That’s because striker, Nikolay Todorov, popped up with an equaliser in the 86th minute.
Inverness’ next fixture is against Arbroath next Saturday and Kennedy will be hoping to earn a place in the starting XI, as he looks to make the most of his short spell in the Highlands.