Simon Donnelly believes that if Nicolas Kuhn does leave Celtic this summer, Brendan Rodgers will have a serious gap to fill in his attacking lineup.
Speaking on Clyde Superscoreboard, the former Celtic forward acknowledged the German’s contribution, particularly in the first half of the season, and warned that replacing that output won’t be straightforward.
Kuhn arrived from Rapid Vienna in January 2023 and initially took time to settle. But his influence grew steadily, with the winger ending the campaign with a combined 36 goal contributions across all competitions. With RB Leipzig reportedly stepping up their interest, and speculation swirling around a possible £15m fee, Celtic may soon be forced into a decision. [Read more on this here]
“You can’t argue about his season and his numbers.
“There was a period where he was attracting a lot of interest because he was doing so well in the Champions League, scoring goals, performing well, and then I thought his form dipped a little bit towards the end of the season.
“But when you look from a wide player, I think his goals and assists were very, very good.
“At one point, I think he was pushing Daizen Maeda for Player of the Year. Maeda just kept going, he was consistent right through.
“I don’t know how I feel about it. Jota is going to be a little bit away through injury. I’m not sure. It’s one of those ones, careful what you wish for.
“Can you get somebody to come in and have that many assists and goals, right from the off? We don’t know.
“Kuhn had a slow start the season before, so we’ll wait and see. They will be doing a lot of work in the background.
“Wide players are the ones that have been linked, so they are obviously looking in that area again. Whether they know Kuhn’s away, time will tell.”
With Jota still recovering from injury and no clarity yet on Kuhn’s future, Celtic needs some reliable, attacking options, especially with Champions League qualifiers on the horizon.
Ben Nygren is capable of playing pretty much anywhere in attack, while Celtic are still looking at other attackers, all before July rolls in.
Celtic will also look elsewhere in their squad. CeltsAreHere understands that defenders and holding midfielders are on Brendan Rodgers’ wishlist this summer. It could be a busy transfer window for Celtic, with a lot of action expected with incomings as well as outgoings.
