Darren O’Dea believes Sebastian Tounekti could have a big say in Celtic’s title race after he admits he’s learned from misjudging Nicolas Kuhn far too early into his Hoops career.
The former Celtic coach worked with Nicolas Kuhn when he first arrived at Parkhead and O’Dea said he wrote off the German winger almost immediately.
Kuhn struggled at Celtic with a dental issue which saw him fail to impress fans and O’Dea at the start of his Parkhead career.
Sebastian Tounekti should start for Celtic ahead of Daizen Maeda against Stuttgart
Change my mind…
And after Kuhn dazzled in the Champions League and domestically, O’Dea took stock about Sebastian Tounekti and backs the Tunisian to have a big say in Celtic’s title race this season.
O’Dea shares how Nicolas Kuhn ‘looked petrified at Celtic’
Kuhn’s form for Celtic earned him a £17m move to Como as O’Dea remembers watching a winger who looked scared playing in the green and white Hoops.
O’Dea told The Go Radio Football Show, “I thought it from the [beginning], because he [Tounekti] had a bit of criticism, he started really well, then he dipped, and now I think he’s starting to come around.
“But because of my experience of watching Nicolas Kuhn, I thought Nicolas Kuhn for the first six months, this kid’s not got it. He’s just not got it.
“He looked petrified to take people on. He just lacked conviction in everything he did.
“But the reality is, he’s a young guy, he needed to settle a couple of issues with, I think it was his teeth at the time or something like that, and a bit of coaching.”
O’Dea says Tounekti will ‘be a much better player’ for Celtic next season
The similarities of Kuhn’s start to Tounekti’s at Celtic are striking but O’Dea tips the Tunisian to have a big say in whether the title will stay at Parkhead this season.
O’Dea continued, “I think with Tounekti, whether you see him hit the heights of Nicolas Kuhn, I think you’re now seeing a player that has been told by his coaches and by his manager, I want to see you more aggressive with the ball. I want you to take people on. I want you to shoot.
“He needs to learn to cross off his right foot because he wants to come in to his right foot, or off his left foot, because he’s so dominant on his right, he needs to practice going down onto his left and crossing.
“But I think Tounekti could have a big say in this run-in and I also think he’s going to be a much better player next season as well.”
Tounekti sparked Celtic’s fightback at Kilmarnock and the Hoops support will be hoping that he continues to turn in the same types of performances for the remaining games in the title race.
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