Why Nicolas Kuhn has been compared to Celtic legend Stiliyan Petrov

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Celtic can’t do much wrong at the moment.

Brendan Rodgers has the team sitting top of the Premiership table and they are starting to show serious improvements in the Champions League.

There are many factors behind why Celtic look so strong, from Rodgers’ tactics away at Atalanta, to the bench strength, summer signings impressing or the improvement of certain players.

It’s fair to say that some have been taught a valuable lesson this season and that’s not jumping the gun too early.

It’s understandable that, when you are playing for a pressure cooker like Celtic, then you are expected to perform straight away and at all times.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t settle in, or need time to, because the club has a history of players needing to do just that.

Nicolas Kuhn compared to Stiliyan Petrov amid strong Celtic form

Stiliyan Petrov was part of one of the great Celtic teams and perhaps the best of the modern era involving Martin O’Neill.

Petrov-Lennon-Lambert was one of the great midfields and one that will bring back fond memories for supporters.

But it was never plain sailing, as Petrov’s first year in Glasgow proved because the Bulgaria star was homesick, didn’t speak English and found life tough in his first season.

That’s why Stephen McGinn compared the Celtic legend to Nicolas Kuhn because, when he arrived in January, he had his off-field troubles and needed around six months to settle down.

Now that he has, McGinn thinks Kuhn has made ‘one of the biggest improvements’ he has seen in a player since Petrov, as he told Go Radio.

“It’s one of the biggest improvements I have seen in a Celtic player,” said McGinn. “Think back to probably similar-ish to Stan Petrov. Maybe back in the day when you think of being homesick.

“I remember as a youngster, Stan Petrov thinking ‘how did we buy this guy for £2-3 million’. And then, he goes on to be one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe for two or three years.

“Nicolas Kuhn, when Brendan Rodgers came out and said that he had problems, dental problems and he really struggled. Probably the cynical way we are in the city”

Kuhn’s numbers for Celtic

From being questioned to now possibly looking at the records.

There is still a long way to go and it’s crazy to think that Kuhn is already in double figures for goals and assists.

He is sitting on 22 goal contributions for the season in all competitions, including that stunning brace as Celtic outclassed RB Leipzig.

But McGinn feels he can reach the records set previously by James Forrest, who is still at Parkhead, and the man who thrived in Rodgers’ first spell, Scott Sinclair.

Not only can Kuhn break their records, but he has every chance to well and truly smash it.

“ I had a real issue with Celtic’s wingers last season,” said McGinn. “I didn’t think they were contributing enough.

“I thought it was a real area, in terms of the strength of any Brendan Rodgers team, not just at Celtic. But a Brendan Rodgers team over the years. Swansea. Leicester. All these good footballing teams. One of the biggest strengths were the wide players.

“I think the highest, over the last 10-15 years, I think James Forrest and Scott Sinclair in separate seasons with 36 goal contributions. You are thinking of Nicolas Kuhn on 22. The improvement in him is dramatic.”