Celtic have grown accustomed to cashing in on their star players after they have developed and impressed at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership.
Matt O’Riley, who won the club’s Player of the Year title in the 2023/24 season, left to sign with Brighton & Hove Albion just last summer.
As shown in the chart above, the Premiership champions have a long history of selling players for high prices, including three players who left for £25 million.
The Hoops also cashed in on Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi in the January transfer window, sending him to Rennes for a reported £10 million, which was comparable to Liel Abada’s departure.
Brendan Rodgers will now have to deal with additional exits during the current transfer window, as Nicolas Kuhn is apparently closing in on a move from Parkhead.
According to journalist Anthony Joseph, Como has agreed to recruit the German attacker for an initial cost of £16.5 million, after he has already agreed to a long-term contract with the Italian club.
Why is trading Nicolas Kuhn a good deal for Celtic?
First and foremost, selling Kuhn will be a blow to Rodgers and Celtic because of the attacking quality he brought at the top of the pitch last season.
The 25-year-old winger finished the season with 21 goals and 15 assists in 51 matches across all competitions, indicating that the Hoops are about to lose a player who can provide goals and assists on a consistent basis.
However, given the money involved and his form in the second part of the 2024/25 season, this trade makes a lot of sense for Celtic.
The Scottish giants reportedly paid £3 million to purchase the winger from Rapid Vienna, implying that the club is making at least £13.5 million in profit just 18 months after acquiring him.
| Nicolas Kuhn (24/25 Premiership) | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 15 | 17 |
| Goals | 7 | 6 |
| Big chances created | 7 | 4 |
| Assists | 6 | 3 |
| Stats via Sofascore | ||
As shown in the table above, Kuhn’s Premiership performance dipped in the second half of the season, with fewer goals, less ‘big chances’ generated, and fewer assists despite playing two more games.
These statistics show that Celtic may be cashing in on him at the perfect time, as there is a chance that his form will deteriorate following his blistering start last season.
Meanwhile, another Celtics superstar is rumoured to be interested in leaving, which would be an even heavier blow to Rodgers and the team this summer.
Celtic set the price tag on star forward.
According to Football Insider, several teams are interested in signing versatile Celtic forward Daizen Maeda before the summer transfer window closes.
According to the source, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Fenerbahce, and Brentford are all interested in signing the Japanese international to improve their respective attacking lineup.
It adds that Celtic are ‘not in the mood’ to lose their great attacker this summer, despite already being about to trade Kuhn and placing a high price on his head.
According to Football Insider, the Scottish club is unwilling to sell the 27-year-old winger, who can also play as a centre-forward, for anything less than £25 million, which would be a joint club record.
