“Lessons learnt” from Dortmund defeat – Kühn in top form ahead of clash with former club

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Exclusive interview 

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Celtic were in fine form at the weekend, when they made short work of an Aberdeen side that had rose to second in the Scottish Premiership with a remarkable 6-0 win in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup. While the result may have come as something of a surprise to fans of the Pittodrie side, Celtic fans welcomed the familiar sight of Nicolas Kühn getting amongst the goals. Over the course of the 90 minutes, the winger bagged a goal and assist, taking his tally to no less than seven goals and 10 assists in his first 15 games for the club he joined in January of this year for just €3.5 million. And that incredible run of form is down to the clear instructions and clever coaching Kühn has received from Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, according to what the 24-year-old star told Transfermarkt in this exclusive interview. 

“It was about getting myself into goal-scoring situations more often,” said Kühn, when asked by Transfermarkt about his incredible form in 2024. “At Rapid [Vienna], too, there were statistics that showed how many chances I had created and scored. Thanks to the individual quality of the players here at Celtic and a lot of work on my own finishing, I’m now taking advantage of even more of these chances.” While Celtic have only dropped points once in the league and domestic cups – a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in mid-October – they have four points after three games in the Champions League. And recently suffered a huge 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in matchday two. On Tuesday, Kühn & Co. will welcome RB Leipzig to Celtic Park, where the Wunstorf native was on the books between 2015 and 2017.

“The Champions League was of course a childhood dream and has always been a clearly formulated goal of mine,” said Kühn when asked about playing in Europe’s premier competition for Celtic this season. “I’m delighted that we’ve finally got there. I think, apart from the game in Dortmund, we’ve had an excellent start to the season. You mustn’t forget that this is the first Champions League appearance for many of the players in our team. Losing to last year’s finalists is no disgrace, even if the defeat was too heavy in the end. Taking a point away from home against last year’s Europa League winners is also okay.”

The 0-0 draw against Serie A attacking powerhouse Atalanta was a good example of “the lessons we learnt” from the heavy loss in Germany. “We were much more compact defensively and must now work on bringing our attacking qualities to the pitch even more effectively,” noted the Celtic forward. Rodgers’ men now want to go one better against the Saxons and are banking on their famous home crowd: “Leipzig are a good team, but you shouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating any team in the Champions League. A lot is possible with our fans behind us.” 

Over the course of his time as a youth player in Germany, Kühn moved clubs three times: from St. Pauli to Hannover 96, then to Leipzig and finally to Ajax for €2 million in January 2018. But it was his time with the Bundesliga club that he now faces in Europe this week that perhaps had the biggest impact on the winger’s development as a player.”Being away from home for the first time at the age of fifteen, I learnt a lot during that time and am grateful for the experience,” recalls Kühn. “There was contact with several clubs and in the end Ajax was chosen. I think Ajax has often proven in the past that the club can be a very good springboard. I was also able to gain formative experiences there, some of which I couldn’t have done without in hindsight.”

In Amsterdam, where he mostly played in the second team, Kühn was denied a chance at first team football, which is why he returned to Germany after two years to play for Bayern Munich’s second team. While in the then third tier of German football, Kühn was part of a team that became league champions in 2020 under a youth coach by the name of Sebastian Hoeneß – who has since risen to prominence in the Bundesliga by taking Stuttgart from the threat of relegation to the Champions League. During his time in Bayern’s youth side, Kühn was awarded the Fritz Walter Gold Medal – a trophy that is awarded to outstanding youth players in German football – and was well on his way to a future call up for the national team. However, such form never led to the Bayern first team and Kühn instead opted for first team football in Vienna, before his move to Celtic. But that doesn’t mean the player has given up all hope of representing his nation one day. In a recent interview with Kicker, Kühn stated: “In the relegation battle with Aue, I said back then that my goals were the Champions League and the national team. I recently fulfilled one of these dreams and I will continue to work on the other.” One down. One to go.