Soccer

Celtic new boy Nicolas Kuhn feels Parkhead perfect place to achieve his goals

The 24-year-old attacker signed a five-and-a-half-year deal from Rapid Vienna on Tuesday.

Nicolas Kuhn is looking to kick on at Celtic
Nicolas Kuhn is looking to kick on at Celtic
By Ronnie Esplin, PA

Celtic new boy Nicolas Kuhn believes Parkhead is the perfect place to achieve his ambitions at club and country level.

The 24-year-old attacker, who signed a five-and-a-half-year deal from Rapid Vienna on Tuesday, played at youth level for Germany up until under-20s and was in the academy teams of RB Leipzig and Ajax before joining Bayern Munich in 2020 following an initial loan move.

Kuhn did not quite make the breakthrough at those European giants before moving to Austria in 2022 but is now looking to kick on, with Champions League football and a senior call-up for Germany in his sights.

Speaking at Celtic Park, he said: “Of course they (Ajax and Bayern) were big clubs. I learned a lot, it was a good school.

“There were a lot of players who had a good career and who made big steps to big clubs so I learned a lot and now I want to show what I can do here.

“At Ajax I played with the whole squad that got to the semi-finals of the Champions League (2019), I trained the whole year with the first team.

“At Bayern I played with players like (Robert) Lewandowski and (Joshua) Kimmich and all the guys you know.

“I think at Ajax I did really good in the youths. When I first arrived, we won the second league with the second team. I trained the whole time with the first team. In the youth league, I was the top scorer and I deserved a chance.

“But then I made the move to Bayern. After the first season, we were also champions with the second team in the third league in Germany.

“Then there were some private problems so I made a step back.

“People were looking at where I was playing but for me it was a good step. So I can take two steps forward now.

“I’ve improved a lot, I think. I’ve now played regularly and I’ve stayed fit. That’s the most important thing. Now I can show what I’m able to do.

“When I was at Erzgebirge Aue for one year on loan, I said I wanted to play in the Champions League and for the national team.

“Now I’ve made a big step to a big club. So, of course, in the future, I want to play for the national team as well.”

Kuhn had interest from other clubs but insists the call from Celtic and a chat with boss Brendan Rodgers made up his mind to make the move to Glasgow.

He said: “We had some really good meetings, we talked a lot and he told me what a great and big club this is although I knew about Celtic before and I also saw some games.

“He convinced me to come here and everything he told me was really nice and I had the first training session today.

“It was clear at the moment Celtic called and showed interest that I wanted to come here.

“There was some interest from other clubs but the moment I received the message I didn’t think about going somewhere else.”