It might seem harsh to call Nicolas Kuhn a surprise package in the Celtic ranks this season given Brendan Rodgers spent £3m to prise the winger from Rapid Vienna in January.
The move created little fanfare or excitement, but 10 months later the 24-year-old has become one of the most important players in the Celtic team and is being linked with a move to the English top flight.
His player-of-the-match performance in a 3-1 victory against RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on Tuesday will do nothing to cool that interest either.
Kuhn scored two goals and played a key role in setting up the third as Celtic came from behind to win a Champions League game for the first time since 2007.
‘Nicolas, show us what you’ve got!’
Manager Rodgers used to repeatedly deliver one message to the German winger at half-time of matches last season, according to former Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart.
“You could see Nicolas second-guessing himself at times last season, but Brendan always believed,” Hart said on TNT Sports. “You would hear him at half-time saying to him, ‘Nicolas, show us what you’ve got’.
“He’s showing Rodgers now. He looks right at home in these situations and really effective on these Champions League occasions.”
Speaking after the Leipzig game, Kuhn suggested that the difference this term has been a full pre-season.
“When I came in, it was a little bit difficult,” Kuhn said. “The staff and my team-mates give me the feeling of being important. Now I can show what what I’m able to do.”
It was not all easy for Celtic and Kuhn on Tuesday. After an Arne Engels shot in the opening minute, they did not have another attempt on goal until the 35th minute.
That was Kuhn’s cushioned, curled, clipped finish from the edge of the box that left Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi stranded and put Celtic on the path to victory.
“Of course it’s a shot,” Kuhn said. “I went on one of my dribbles, saw the shot and shoot. It’s what dreams are made of – even better to score against my old club.”
Kuhn spent part of his youth career in the Leipzig system before Ajax signed him in 2018 for £1.7m. From there, without making an appearance, he moved to Bayern Munich, initially on loan. Again, he never played for the first team.
Now, though, he is making an impact on the biggest stage. That first strike against Leipzig has the feel of one that will be talked about by Celtic fans for years to come.
“There was a confidence and he’s one of those players who seem to have more time than anyone else,” former Scotland forward Pat Nevin said on Sportsound.
“There’s a reason for it. It’s because he’s not having to look at the ball. He knows everything that’s around him before it comes to him – and he knows how to develop space.
“The hardest place to do that is the final third, but he knew what he wanted to do long before he actually did it.”
‘The outstanding player in Scottish football’
Kuhn’s second goal was not quite as brilliant on an individual level.
Instead, he was in the right place at the right time to convert from a few yards out following a fine team move.
“More and more, Kuhn is reminding me of Jota,” said BBC Sport Scotland chief sports writer Tom English. “The way he moves, his influence in games, his ability to score goals in volumes but scoring great goals as well.
“He’s become an absolutely essential player in this team. You couldn’t tire watching that [first goal]. He just cushions it in from a mile out – if you can do such a thing.”
That second goal meant Kuhn became the first Celtic player to score two goals in the first half of a Champions League – or European Cup – match since Roy Aitken in October 1979, against Partizani Tirana.
It might not be the most eye-catching statistic from Celtic’s statement win, but it shows the rarity of what Kuhn has achieved – and the kind of form he is in.
Another former Celtic winger, Aiden McGeady, summed it up on the Scottish Football Podcast, saying: “I think the outstanding player in Scottish football this season has been Nicolas Kuhn. Every time he’s on the pitch, he impacts the game.”
It may be a little early to christen him ‘Saint Nick’, but if he keeps up these performances, Celtic fans might not see him after December.
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