Nicolas Kuhn is being tipped to be Celtic’s next mega-million pound star.
Daizen Maeda has been tagged best in the world by his manager. As Celtic prepare to get back to business, Brendan Rodgers’ jet-propelled pair aim to keep the champions speeding along. The importance of Kuhn and Maeda to the squad is being shown, not just in performances but also in some startling bare facts.
As Rodgers started out his second reign in charge, one of his biggest tasks was to fill the void vacated by the £25million loss of Jota. His departure for Saudi Arabia put a massive chunk into the coffers but also took a gaping chunk out of the squad. Jota’s sidekick during the Ange Postecglou era was of course the Aussie’s first signing after his arrival. Liel Abada, just like his partner on the opposite side, made an immediate impact and as well as assisting Kyogo Furuhashi, made his own huge contribution.
But the Israeli left for the MLS during last season for another deal which was worth in the region of £10m to Celtic. By Postecglou’s second term the trio were a well-oiled machine, tearing defences apart and generally making mayhem.
With Abada not participating and Jota gone, one of the biggest issues Rodgers faced upon his return was recreating that energy, threat and goal return from wide. In terms of pure numbers, the boss has done it through the Japanese and his January signing Kuhn. Two seasons ago, at this stage of the term with Celtic having played their first 11 games, the magical past duo had bagged 10 goals.
Jota netted four from 10 appearances, Abada had six in 11 outings. Looking right now, both as a collective and individually, Maeda and Kuhn are outgunning those specific figures.
After 11 games of this season, the current pair are two better off with a dozen and have done it in fewer games. Kuhn has the same six in 11 as Abada had in 2022-23, but Maeda has his half-a-dozen from just nine games.
Of course there are nuances such as starts, sub outings and exact minutes on the pitch which mean basic numbers don’t tell complete stories. But there is no question that Maeda and Kuhn are delivering to a spectacular tune and also proving every single bit as important to Rodgers and the success of the team as Jota and Abada were to the outstanding work of Postecogou’s stellar pair.
The acid test and the next phase now, of course, comes in whether the pair can continue to stay at Jota and Abada pace and maintain it. By the time that second Postecoglou season came to a conclusion with a Scottish Cup final success over Inverness, both of his wide boys were still delivering and doing the damage.
Jota’s goal at Hampden against Caley Thistle was his 15th of the campaign and Abada’s strike at the National Stadium took his tally to 13 for the term. With another 28 between them during their first season, there was a consistency of threat delivered over a sustained and lengthy period.
That’s now the major task for Maeda and Kuhn but the signs are encouraging as Rodgers really puts his stamp on the current squad. Key to their success is also a willingness to graft and obviously Maeda’s workrate sets him apart from anyone.
Rodgers claimed recently he doubts “there’s anyone better in world football” than the Japanese at pressing defenders. Maeda is also adaptable. Rodgers has utilised him as a central striker, in the same way that Postecoglou was able switch Abada inside for an emergency.
In an added string to his bow, Maeda has just returned from national-team duty with Japan where was deployed during a sub outing as a wing-back by his national coach Hajime Moriyasu. Maeda’s ability to chase back the pitch and help his defenders is important and Kuhn has been adopting the same traits.
As well as six goals, the German has chipped in with a valuable eight assists and he’s also prepared to do donkey work. Rapid Vienna CEO Steffen Hofmann reckons Kuhn, like Jota and Abada, will leave at some point for big money as part of his natural progression.
But that’s for the future and right now the 24-year-old is rising to the “quality” label placed upon him when Rodgers sealed the deal at the start of this year. While James Forrest took on the responsibility to help guide Celtic over the line last term during Kuhn’s period of adaptation, the former Bayern Munich kid is now providing the inspiration and the manager expected it.
Kuhn’s dramatic late winner against Ross County ensured Celtic are still 100 per cent going into Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Aberdeen and Rodgers said recently: “I just think it’s time, isn’t it? We all expect people to adapt straight away, you’d love them to, whether they’re managers, coaches, or supporters.
“You want them to be ready immediately but he came into the club during a challenging period in January. He had issues around his fitness and health, and everything else.
“He’s always been quick, but I think now there’s more variety in his game, coming inside and out. The big thing I told him when he arrived was that he needs to score goals.”
Kuhn has answered that call. Alongside Maeda, the pair are terrorising backlines. And the early numbers for this season are stacking up superbly.