Nicolas Kuhn has had an incredible start to the season.(Photo: NQ)
Rewind the clock to the sixtyth minute of the Scottish League Cup encounter between Celtic Park and Falkirk yesterday.
After trailing 2-1 against John McGlynn’s hard-charging Bairns, the hosts were obviously having trouble. Brendan Rodgers saw that adjustments were necessary, particularly on both wings. Luis Palma and James Forrest, who were started for this game, were both hooked an hour into the game and were unable to have any kind of beneficial effect on the proceedings.
Yang Hyun-jun made an eye-opening display, but the genius of Nicolas Kuhn—who took Forrest’s place on the right wing—largely eclipsed the South Korean. With two goals and two assists, both for Adam Idah, the German single-handedly flipped this League Cup match around to Celtic’s advantage.
Kuhn has had an interesting ride at Celtic. The 24-year-old, who came to Scotland with experience and a pedigree from playing for teams like RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and Ajax—more especially, their “B Teams”—was signed by Rapid Vienna in January. Unfairly or not, Kuhn’s senior career has consisted of six clubs, therefore you may classify his career thus far as “nomadic.”
Along with Idah, who was also signed last winter, Kuhn made an almost immediate impression in his second appearance at Pittodrie, where he scored an equalizer against Aberdeen with help from, you guessed it, Idah. Even with this strong start, the winger was affected by additional circumstances that were completely beyond his control.
Kuhn had his wisdom teeth extracted in Austria prior to moving to Celtic. The already tiny player dropped about seven kilograms, or little over a stone, in weight as a result of his inability to eat properly. This would have been a significant weight loss for the footballer, who is only 5′ 9″. His jaw and mouth were affected by the dental treatment, so he was unable to eat.
As a result, many people who identify as Celtic rapidly formed opinions about Kuhn. He did, in fact, end his debut campaign with his new team with just three goals and three assists, displaying flashes of his talent but, it must be said, very little consistency throughout.
Since joining Celtic, Kuhn’s use of the word “teething issues” has taken on two meanings, but all uncertainty regarding his ability to fit in with this team has now vanished. Surprisingly, after just over a month of playing football, he has surpassed his season-long total of goals and assists. He now leads the team in scoring, surpassing teammate winger Daizen Maeda, with five goals and six assists across all competitions.
If you have been paying attention, this redemption narrative has been going on even before the season officially started. The former Germany youth international looked set for the next season after scoring twice against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City during the preseason. A little more than a week later, on Flag Day, he repeated the feat against Kilmarnock. After making a positive impression at Easter Road against Hibernian, he backed it up with a goal and an assist against David Gray’s team in the League Cup.
His brilliant start to the season was further demonstrated and highlighted by picking up another assist against St Mirren in Paisley, before VAR cruelly disqualified his contribution against Rangers. He would help Kyogo Furuhashi well in the Champions League after drawing a blank against Hearts in the goal contributions column, and he would add four more goals to that total yesterday against Falkirk.
After his team’s quarterfinal victory at Celtic Park yesterday, boss Rodgers waxed lyrical about his in-form player while also emphasizing the path Kuhn has walked to get this position. “It’s quite nice that (Kuhn) was the man of the match in just 30 minutes,” he remarked.
“When he entered the game, he was outstanding. He is becoming a really talented player. He’s been productive, and the third goal came from his press without the ball.After helping us score the third goal and setting up the equalizer, he was there to win the ball from the full-back.
“He had two distinct finishes; the first was a well-executed strike into the lower corner. He had time to consider his options for the other one: does he dink it or goes around the goalie? He did a great job finishing it. That is what we anticipate from our offensive guys.
“He achieved what we wanted, which is for them to set goals and score goals.”
They also interviewed the man of the moment. Kuhn did in fact say to Celtic TV, “We showed another face in the second half, and I’m always happy to score and assist.” Happily, if not exactly fortunately, we prevailed.
“For me, it was crucial to have a full preseason to establish a rapport with the squad and staff. I hope the sensation will continue because I’m feeling great.
There’s no denying that Kuhn is an exceptional player. You wouldn’t bet on the winger to perform in front of his own people at Signal Iduna Park, since he has a European journey to his home Germany in just over a week to play Borussia Dortmund.
But whether it turns out to be true or not, Rodgers is aware that the genuine Kuhn has finally made his way to Celtic and is a formidable opponent right now. That should give the manager a lot of hope as they approach the hectic winter season.
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