Nicolas Kuhn shone in the 45 minutes he played against Manchester Ciy during the Celtic USA Tour 2024, scoring twice and assisting once in the 4-3 victory.
Both of the midfielder's goals were taken well, but his superbly-weighted outside-of-the-foot pass in behind the opponent's backline to assist Kyogo Furuhashi ahead of half-time showcased immense skill.
Manager Brendan Rodgers hailed the 24-year-old's contributions at full-time, and suggested the best is yet to come from the German – the same sentiment the player himself expressed in a media conference earlier this month.
"It feels like my Celtic career starts now,” said Kuhn at the beginning of July. "That is the goal. I just want to have a good pre-season, stay fit and show everyone. Yes, I hope it’s time for the real thing after the introduction."
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Signed in the January transfer window from Rapid Vienna, the German midfielder spoke candidly at the time about the agonising dental surgery that left him unable to eat for 12 days just weeks before arriving in Glasgow.
The ensuing weight loss left the 24-year-old with an unusual road to recovery – fit to play, yet physically hindered as a result of his rapid and fairly extreme weight loss.
The midfielder nevertheless made 18 appearances under Rodgers in the back-end of the domestic campaign, but suggested he was only beginning to hit his stride in fitness terms when Celtic overcame Aberdeen on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden in April.
Now, he wants nothing more than to use the new season as a starting block for what’s to come – and while Celtic's 4-3 win over English Premier League champions Manchester City was only a friendly, Kuhn's efforts bode well for the campaign ahead.
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