Celtic have opened talks to land “on fire” £8.6m whiz, he’d be a lethal Kuhn partner – opinion

Celtic have opened talks to land “on fire” £8.6m whiz, he’d be a lethal Kuhn partner – opinion

After a challenging first half to the 2023–24 season, Brendan Rodgers will be looking for greater success in the second half of the campaign for Celtic.

Ange Postecoglou, an Australian tactician who chose to secure a move to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur,

was replaced as head coach of Northern Ireland by the Northern Irishman last summer.

It was always going to be difficult for Rodgers to follow after winning the domestic triple crown with the Hoops the previous season,

as was the case when Kilmarnock eliminated his team from the League Cup in August.

With just one victory, the Bhoys finished last in their Champions League group and will not be playing in Europe for the next five months.

But the club has an opportunity to strengthen their team in order to succeed (win trophies) between now and May,

as the January transfer window opened for business at the beginning of last week.

News on Mathias Kvistgaarden and Nicolas Kuhn’s transfers to Celtic

Football Insider reports that Celtic and Danish team Brondby have begun negotiations on a possible signing of Mathias Kvistgaarden this month.

As per the report, the Scottish powerhouses are ‘working’ on a potential deal for the young,

gifted number nine, who has been performing admirably for his team.

According to Football Insider, Rodgers is eager to bolster his team during the January transfer window and has targeted strengthening his left wing,

central midfield, and center-forward positions.

The publication doesn’t say, though, if Brondby is willing to pay for the exceptional kid’s services or how much they would charge for him.

However, TipsBladet earlier revealed that Celtic could need to pay around €10 million (£8.6 million) to get his services in January.

In order to expand their alternatives on the wing, the Hoops are also getting close to signing Nicolas Kuhn,

a forward for Rapid Wien, in a deal said to be for around £2.8 million.

According to FootballScotland reporter Mark Hendry, the Scottish powerhouses are holding off on completing the transfer until Wien finds an attacker to take the player’s place.

Next week, he is anticipated to be in Glasgow to finalise his transfer to Parkhead.

If Rodgers can now work out a deal to add Kvistgaarden to the team with Kuhn before the second half of the season begins, he could provide Kuhn with a deadly partner.

Numbers from Nicolas Kuhn’s season

The £2.8 million player is a fantastic creative threat with the ability to regularly penetrate defences with his passing and crossing.

This season, he has been playing for Wien in the Austrian first division, and Celtic will be hoping that his form translates to Scottish football in the coming months and years.

23/24 Scottish Premiership (via Dailysportnews)	Daizen Maeda	Hyun-jun Yang	Liel Abada	Mikey Johnston	James Forrest
Appearances	17	17	Six	Eight	15
Assists	Two	One	One	Zero	Zero
Key passes per game	0.5	0.8	0.7	0.9	0.6
Big chances created	Four	Three	Two	Two	One
Dribbles completed per game	1.2	1.3	0.5	0.8	0.0

The table above illustrates how limited Rodgers’ present choices are when it comes to creativity on the right flank, especially with Luis Palma securing the left side as his own.

On the other hand, in his 16 Bundesliga games this season, Kuhn has drawn attention with five assists, eleven “big chances” produced, and 1.8 crucial passes per game.

Additionally, he has contributed one goal and two assists for Wien in three cup competitions.

This demonstrates that the 24-year-old attacker’s ability to consistently create excellent opportunities from the right flank—he has also completed 3.1 dribbles per league game—is evident.

The future Hoops forward scored 24 goals in 35 games for RB Leipzig at the U17 level during his junior career. Rodgers may try to unlock his scoring potential,

since he has only scored seven goals in 51 games for Wien’s main squad thus far.

The numbers that support Celtic’s decision to sign Kvistgaarden

By completing a deal to recruit Kvistgaarden from Brondby before the end of the month,

Celtic might now acquire a deadly companion for Kuhn in the final third.

Since the beginning of the Superligaen Championship Round at the close of the previous season,

the 21-year-old wizard has been playing for the Danish team in excellent form.

The Denmark U21 international has amassed an impressive 13 goals and 11 assists in 30 appearances across all competitions since the beginning of that round,

including six goals and four assists in nine appearances in the Championship Round.

The gifted forward was described as “on fire” by talent scout Jacek Kulig earlier in the season,

and it is easy to understand why when you consider the numbers he has amassed over the previous eight months or so.

Kvistgaarden’s academy career at Brondby (via Transfermarkt)
Statistic	U19	Reserves
Appearances	45	13
Goals	31	Three
Assists	11	One

The Hoops target demonstrated his ability at the young level, as the table above illustrates, and he is now beginning to demonstrate his talent in senior football.

At the age of 21, he still has a lot of time left to grow and develop, so Celtic may sign him as a long-term project with the potential to make an immediate impact. He can provide goals and assists at an astonishing rate.

Linking up with Kvistgaarden at Parkhead might be a deadly combination for Kuhn, as it could help bring out the best in each other both this season and in the future.

The Brondby star has shown an eye for a pass with 11 assists in his previous 30 games, and the Danish ace’s goal scoring record indicates he has the finishing ability to fully utilise the winger’s inventiveness. This might put Kuhn back on the scoresheet.

The aforementioned data demonstrate why Rodgers needs to insist that the team complete deals for both players before the window closes since doing so could increase the potency of his attacking options.

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