Celtic enjoyed an entertaining passage through to the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup yesterday and nobody deserves more credit from the occasion that Nicolas Kuhn.
The German winger was introduced in the 61st minute and had quite the impact, striking twice and claiming two assists to supply Adam Idah with a brace.
Overall, Kuhn is now up to five goals and six assists in eight appearances for Celtic this season, registering a goal contribution for every 44 minutes he has been on the pitch.
After recovering from illness brought on by dental surgery in the early part of his time in Glasgow, the 24-year-old is raking in the plaudits as a key cog in Brendan Rodgers’ machinery and appears to have cemented himself as his first-choice right winger.
Speaking post-match, the Irishman expanded on the fundamental reasons behind Kuhn’s rise to prominence in green and white and why he now looks built to last this term.
Brendan Rodgers on Nicolas Kuhn’s incredible condition
Cited via The Celtic Way, Rodgers credited Kuhn for solidifying his physical condition after struggling to maintain robustness during the early part of his Celtic career, which has paved the way for the winger to show consistency so far this season.
He stated: “I think what we are seeing with him (Kuhn) is consistency. He came out of a difficult period last season in January, and he had issues.
“He showed it in spells and at training as the season went on. The big thing for Nicolas was pre-season and he had a really good pre-season with us which solidified all the principles that we wanted and he has done really. He also got himself into good condition.
“He is physically strong and he has started the season so well and his contribution has been huge for us. I am delighted with him.”
Nicolas Kuhn is carrying the torch for Celtic
Despite having plenty of individuals to choose from, there is a compelling argument that Kuhn may even be Celtic’s most consistent performer at this stage of the campaign.
Coming on leaps and bounds, the former Germany Under-20 international looks to be showing why the club saw fit to shell out £3.5 million for his services back in January.
There is no magical secret to his progress. If anything, Kuhn appears to have simply took on instruction from the manager and has combined that with a belief in his own ability to be a match-winning presence off the right flank.
Pulling together his mix of trickery, pace and end product, Celtic have a brilliant player on their hands who looks to be the latest in a long line of intelligently-sourced talent in Glasgow’s east end.
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