Celtic's Kühn ready for next audition against Leipzig

Twenty-four-year-old German winger/forward Nicolas Kühn was supposed to receive a chance to showcase his revival when his current club Celtic Glasgow faced Borussia Dortmund in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions’ League at the beginning of last month. Unfortunately for the former FCB academy man, a ruthless demolition at the hands of the BVBdidn’t exactly aid his cause of getting back on the German national team radar.

Kühn’s personal journey from one of the sure-fire Bayern “break-out” candidates to several seasons in relative obscurity and, finally, recognition and success with the Scottish champions still leaves him hungry to take the next step in his career. Even when he was a teenager, the young talent took the circuitous path. At the age of 18, he opted to depart the RB Leipzig academy for Ajax. 

Kühn eventually found his way back to German football from Holland when recruiters at the Bayern campus decided to bring him on board. After winning the 2019/20 3. Liga title under then FCB II head-coach Sebastian Hoeneß, however, he struggled to find his form during the subsequent season in which the Bayern reserves were relegated to the fourth division.

A loan-out to Erzgebirge Aue and a stint with SK Rapid Wien in the Austrian Bundesliga followed. In a recent interview with Germany’s Kicker Magazine, Kühn noted that he never gave up on two specific dreams: Playing in the Champions’ League and representing Germany at the highest possible level. This held true irrespective of which station he found himself in.

“I said even back then that my goals were the Champions’ League and the national team,” Kühn remarked in the late-September-published interview, “I recently fulfilled one of these dreams and I will continue to work towards the other.” 

In a more recent interview with transfermarkt’s original German website, Kühn again expressed gratitude that one of his dreams had come to fruition. The 24-year-old addressed the heavy defeat against Dortmund and looked forward to facing the club whose academy he left lower Saxony to join at the age of 15. All told, Kühn spent two years in the RB system.

“[My time at Leipzig] obviously shaped me,” Kühn said, “It was my first time away from home. I learned a lot during that time and am grateful for the experiences. Leipzig is a very good team, but we shouldn’t be underestimated either. With our fans behind us, anything is possible.”

“I think, apart from the Dortmund match, we’ve started this season well,” Kühn also noted, “You have to bear in mind that many players in our team are making their Champions’ League debut this season. Losing to last year’s Champions’ League finalists is no disgrace.”