Bigger loss than Kuhn: Celtic have set huge asking price for "special" star
Celtic are a club that have been come used to cashing in on their top players once they have developed and impressed at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership.
You only have to look as recently as last summer to see when Matt O’Riley left to sign for Brighton & Hove Albion after winning the club’s Player of the Year award in the 2023/24 campaign.
As you can see in the graphic above, the Premiership champions have a rich history of selling players for big money, including three players who have left for £25m.
The Hoops also cashed in on Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi in the January transfer window, selling him to Rennes for a reported fee of £10m, which placed him on par with Liel Abada’s exit.
Brendan Rodgers, now, is set to have to deal with more exits in the current transfer window, as Nicolas Kuhn is reportedly closing in on an exit from Parkhead.
Journalist Anthony Joseph reports that Como have agreed a deal worth an initial fee of £16.5m to sign the German attacker, who has already agreed a long-term contract with the Italian side.
Why selling Nicolas Kuhn is a good deal for Celtic
Firstly, selling Kuhn will come as an initial blow to Rodgers and Celtic because of the attacking quality that he provided at the top end of the pitch last season.
The 25-year-old winger ended the campaign with a return of 21 goals and 15 assists in 51 matches in all competitions, which shows that the Hoops are set to lose a player who can deliver goals and assists on a regular basis.
However, it is also a deal that also makes a lot of sense for Celtic, given the money involved, and his form in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Scottish giants reportedly paid a fee of £3m to sign the winger from Rapid Vienna, which means that the club are making at least £13.5m in profit just 18 months on from when they snapped him up.
Appearances
15
17
Goals
7
6
Big chances created
7
4
Assists
6
3
As you can see in the table above, Kuhn’s form in the Premiership also dropped off in the second half of the season, with fewer goals, fewer ‘big chances’ created, and fewer assists despite playing two more games.
These statistics suggest that Celtic could be cashing in on him at the right time, because there is the risk that his form will continue to drop after that lightning start to last season.
Meanwhile, there is reported interest in another Hoops superstar whose exit would come as an even bigger blow to Rodgers and the club this summer.
Celtic set price tag for star forward
According to Football Insider, there are a number of teams interested in signing versatile Celtic forward Daizen Maeda before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Fenerbahce, and Brentford are all keen on a deal to sign the Japan international to bolster their respective attacks.
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It adds that Celtic are in ‘no mood’ to lose their star attacker this summer, though, on top of already being about to sell Kuhn, and that they have placed a huge price tag on his head.
Football Insider reports that the Scottish giants are not willing to part ways with the 27-year-old winger, who can also play as a centre-forward, for anything less than a fee of £25m, which would be a joint-record sale for the club.
It now remains to be seen whether or not any of the three Premier League teams or Fenerbahce eyeing up are willing to spend that much money on the Japanese dynamo this summer.
Why Daizen Maeda would be a bigger loss than Nicolas Kuhn
If one of those interested clubs swoop to sign Maeda from the Premiership champions for a fee of £25m in the coming weeks or months, it would be a bigger blow than Kuhn’s impending exit is set to be.
The Japan international ended the season with a haul of 33 goals in 51 games for Celtic in all competitions, which means that he scored 12 more goals than the German winger in the same number of appearances.
Maeda, dubbed a “special player” by Alistair Johnston, also has more positional value to Rodgers because he has shown that he can be deployed on either flank or through the middle as a centre-forward, whilst Kuhn made 52 of his 55 starts for the club as a right winger.
This means that Celtic would lose depth in several positions if they cashed in on the Japanese marksman this summer, but they are only set to lose an option on the right wing with Kuhn’s move to Como.
Appearances
34
32
Goals
16
13
Goals per game
0.5
0.4
Big chances created
10
11
Assists
10
9
Assists per game
0.3
0.3
Cross accuracy
17%
5%
As you can see in the table above, Maeda also outperformed the £16.5m-rated winger in the Premiership with more goals and more assists for the Hoops.
This suggests that the £25m-rated forward’s exit would leave an even bigger hole for Rodgers to fill at the top end of the pitch, from a quality perspective as well as the positions that he can play.
Overall, Maeda offers more to the team, with his quality and versatility, and that is why his transfer would be an even bigger blow than Kuhn’s transfer to Como, which is also reflected in the respective reported fees.
Celtic wanting £25m for Maeda, whilst they have accepted £16.5m for Kuhn, speaks to how important they view them within the squad, and that is backed up by their respective statistics.
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Hopefully, Celtic will be able to fend off interest from the likes of Spurs and Fenerbache in order to keep hold of their star attacker before the summer transfer window slams shut at the start of September.