Nicolas Kuhn’s celebration said it all during Celtic’s thumping win over Dundee United at the weekend.
There is no doubt that this has been a difficult 2025 for Kuhn, but that’s what happens when you play for a pressure-cooker of a club like Celtic and set the bar so high.
Nobody was or could stop Kuhn before the turn of the year; he was ripping anything and everything in front of him, and that in all competitions.
But then, the 25-year-old hit a wall, and it even resulted in Brendan Rodgers dropping Kuhn to the bench, which, in truth, he could not complain about.
This isn’t the first time the German has faced adversity in what has been a short Celtic career so far, and he has bounced back from those difficult moments too.
Pat Bonner states what he first thought of Nicolas Kuhn when he first joined Celtic
Kuhn secured a January transfer move to Celtic from Rapid Wien in 2024, and it’s fair to say that life started pretty badly for the winger in Glasgow.
Pat Bonner made it clear that he was ‘critical’ of the player when he first walked through the doors, and that he just wasn’t doing enough.
The legendary goalkeeper loved how Kuhn turned it around, and despite ‘disappearing’ for moments of this season, he loves the fact that his brace against Dundee United has set him on his way again, as he told BBC Sport.
“Celtic have just bossed this game, knocked the ball around, created good chances,” said Bonner. “They were clinical for the goals.
“Nicolas Kuhn has performed really well. I was critical when he first came to the club, I didn’t think he did enough.
“Suddenly, he came alive and was doing all the things you’d want him to do. Then it disappeared for a while. But (these goals against Dundee United) will give him huge confidence.”
Kuhn’s numbers for Celtic this season
Even with months and months of poor form, when you look at the overall picture, it has been a ridiculously good and strong campaign for Kuhn.
Once again, as stated above, that’s what happens when you play for Celtic, the expectations are so high, and you are expected to meet them at all times.
That’s 32 goal involvements for the season, with a few more big matches to go, including the Glasgow derby and the Scottish Cup final, so he could yet hit the 40 mark by the time the season is out.
| Competition | Apps | Goals | Assists | Minutes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Premiership | 28 | 10 | 8 | 1,667′ |
 | UEFA Champions League | 10 | 3 | 1 | 792′ |
 | SFA Cup | 4 | – | 1 | 265′ |
 | League Cup | 4 | 5 | 4 | 287′ |
| Total 24/25: | 46 | 18 | 14 | 3,011′ | |
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