NICHOLAS KUHN CELTIC MOVE: IS £16.5 MILLION ENOUGH? THAT DEPENDS ON WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
In keeping with rumors that have been floating around online for more than a week now, it seems that Nicholas Kuhn will indeed leave Celtic within the next few days.
Whether or not this is the right move by the club seems to be a question that has firmly divided fan opinion.
Nicholas Kuhn Celtic Farewell: A Decent Return for a Player who Gave us 6 Good Months
From a purely business-orientated, financial perspective, this Nicholas Kuhn Celtic transfer appears to be the proverbial no-brainer. We’ll make about a 450% profit on a player who, if rumors emanating from within Celtic are to be believed, both wants away and isn't fancied by the manager.
If I’m being brutally honest, whilst it’s always a shame to lose a player of undeniable quality and ability, I think Celtic are making the right move here. We’re getting a hefty profit on a player who has, until now, had something of a nomadic career.
Ultimately, Kuhn will probably be remembered by most Celtic fans as something of a missed opportunity. He showed in that initial 5 or 6 months of last season, the type of player he could be. However, thereafter he seldom lived up to his early promise.
There’s a prevailing narrative amongst a sizable percentage of the Celtic support, that Kuhn “downed tools” or “seemed to lose interest” after we narrowly lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League Playoff round.
I don’t really buy into this. I actually think his form dipped a while before that. The 3-0 loss at Ibrox in January was the point where I began to fear his head had been turned.
Although in fairness, he was by no means the only player who didn't show up that day.
Whether it was down to transfer speculation, a falling out with the manager, or something as simple as not being able to settle in Scotland, we’ll probably never know.
Como are getting a very good player in this deal, and for a reasonable price. But they are also getting a very volatile asset, in terms of potential resale value.
Kuhn’s career could go either way from here. Como could continue their ascendancy, and if he plays a part in that then not only will he be back playing in the Champions League in a year or two, but his long stated ambition of playing for Germany is also a possibility.
On the other hand, if he proves to be as inconsistent in Italy as he has been in Glasgow, then Como may similarly find themselves trying to offload him in a year or two from now.
From Celtic’s point of view, though we don’t like to discuss it, most of us are used to the fact: We generally sell at least one high-value player every summer. It was Matt O'Riley last summer and it’s going to be Nicholas Kuhn this summer.
Celtic fans will accept that, with the following two provisions:
Firstly, if Kuhn goes, then it makes it doubly important that we retain our other major assets, like Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Secondly, and just as, if not more important, is that the money we bring in from the sale of Kuhn is seen to be reinvested in the strengthening of the team.
Fans weren’t happy to lose Matt O’Riley last year, but the reality is that his sale pretty much covered the cost of Arne Engels, Adam Idah and Auston Trusty.
Whatever you may think about those individual players, there’s no denying that the manager got the money to spend on the players he wanted at the time.
So, if indeed Kuhn officially departs Celtic within the next few days, then I think the club can go a long way to soothing the wound it leaves in the squad by getting deals over the line for some of our targets like Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Sondre Orjasaeter or maybe even Japanese striker Shin Yamada.
Realistically, the Kuhn money could, more or less, cover the fees for all three of the above players.
As usual with Celtic there are also probably a number of other players we are currently looking at that no-one outside the club is even aware of.
Exciting times ahead, but Celtic and particularly our board need to read the room here. Season ticket holders have just paid up for another year, we having more merchandize thrown at us by Adidas than ever before, and prices have gone up across the board.
Fans who can afford to spend money on such things don’t mind doing so, but there needs to be reciprocation.
Sitting on the Nicholas Kuhn money for the next couple of months, only to fumble through a few last minute deals at the end of August simply won’t cut it this season.
I just hope the Celtic Board have the self-awareness to realize that fact.
