Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has admitted he is keeping tabs on Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn with his star rapidly rising.
After a scintillating start to the season for the Scottish champions, reports have suggested the wide man has been attracting interest from the Premier League with Fulham and Brentford among potential suitors showing an interest in the 24-year-old. But it’s not just the clubs eyeing a move for the wide man – who has racked up 10 goals and 11 assists so far this season – who are tracking his impressive campaign.
His stand-out performance against RB Leipzig as Celtic saw off the Bundesliga side in the Champions League has grabbed the attention of the German media and the international gaffer. Following Germany’s 7-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nagelsmann was put on the spot about potential call-ups for Malick Thiaw, Yann Bisseck and Hoops’ hero Kuhn.
He said: “We are focusing on all German players. Malick has been with the national team before but has been out for quite some time recently.
“I think both he and Bisseck are great players who still need to improve on some things. Kühn is also a good player with a lot of desire. He’s someone we’re keeping an eye on. But calling up a new player always means excluding another.”
The Scottish champions would likely command a hefty fee to green light an exit with murmurs over his future exploding just months after his £3million arrival from Rapid Vienna last January. The player us contracted until 2029 – with reports suggesting the club will hold out for a payday in the region of £24million.
Former Celtic star Alan Thompson reckons that the showings in Europe’s elite competition mean that attention is justified. He told the Sunday Post: “They (Celtic) just blew the German side away and played some lovely football.
“The 3-1 win was well deserved. This season a lot of credit has gone to Nicolas Kuhn and I think he has merited the attention. He’s been brilliant with his goals and assists.”
In terms of a replacement, Royal Antwerp’s Michel-Ange Balikwisha has previously been on the Premiership leaders agenda. CEO Sven Jaecques has claimed that Celtic showed an interest in the forward previously.
Gazet van Antwerpenreport that Balikwisha is valued at £7.5million despite spending the majority of the campaign to this point on the sidelines. It is stated that the 23-year-old is keen to leave the Belgian side in January and has told the club he “wants to leave.”