Frank McAvennie believes Nicolas Kuhn’s head was turned in January, and that’s why his performances dipped.
Celtic’s Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn arrives at the stadium before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Kuhn was in sensational form in the opening parts of the season, but that fell off a cliff in the winter, and he couldn’t regain it.
The German winger is set to complete a £17m move to ambitious Serie A outfit Como, with Celtic banking a significant profit just six months after signing him from Rapid Vienna for £3million.
Kuhn travelled to Italy on Monday to finalise the deal and complete a medical.
But McAvennie reckons Kühn’s mind was made up long before Cesc Fabregas’ side firmed up their interest.
Speaking on his Let Me Be Frank podcast, McAvennie claimed: “Listen, he has been wonderful. Come January, he was winning every trophy. Player of the Year. He would have won everything. Players’ Player of the Year. Supporters player of the Year. He would have won everything.
“After January, somebody has tapped him up. His agents tell him how good he is and that he is better than Celtic.
“Better than Celtic, and you are going to Como? Tell me that it isn’t about money. It’s very good (deal for Celtic), but I don’t think it’s what Brendan (Rodgers) wants.”
While the £17.2m fee represents outstanding value for Celtic, a chunk of that total will be shared among Kuhn’s former clubs due to sell-on clauses and FIFA’s solidarity payments.
Rapid Vienna are due €1.6m (£1.4m) from a clause agreed during his January transfer. Ajax will bank €200,000 (£172,449) under the development payment structure, while German third-tier side Erzgebirge Aue are entitled to €50,000 (£43,114) following Kuhn’s loan spell there in 2021/22.
Despite Kuhn’s January dip, he finishes his brief Celtic spell with a league title, a League Cup winner’s medal, and a hefty transfer fee that adds to the club’s growing list of profitable turnarounds.
