Brendan Rodgers has praised Nicolas Kuhn after the winger had an impressive showing in the win over Livingston at the weekend. The German winger joined from Rapid Vienna in a deal worth £2.5m and despite scoring an equaliser at Pittodrie, appeared to be struggling to adapt.
The player was brought in during a winter break in Austria and thrust straight into the first team, expected to hit the ground running as Celtic compete with Rangers for the title and look to win the Scottish Cup.
As reported by STV, Rodgers admitted that he was pleased with the progress that the German had made since arriving at the club after a difficult start.
“In fairness to him, I think we mentioned it before, for anyone not working with him every day and seeing the difference, when he first came in he was in the midst of his break and I think he said he’d lost seven kilos.
“You can imagine that when you are only slight anyway. To lose over a stone, I think he found that he’d lost his strength and his running capacity. So it’s been about building him up. I think he feels great now.
“He’s still got a bit of work to do. But I think you saw that much more aggressive (approach) in his game, in one v ones, taking people on, finding the pass for Daizen’s goal. So yes, that’s more of what we want to see.
Daizen Maeda delivers in his 100th game for @CelticFC! 💯
An early lead for the hosts against Livingston 🍀#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/UwZaoG58gB
— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK) March 10, 2024
“It’s just adaption. He’ll progress I’m sure in his time but that was very good.
“He’s coming to a country where the intensity and the expectations are huge. It’s about settling into that and then finding your rhythm. Some can do it straight away. With some it takes a little bit of time.
“You saw on Sunday, he was much more aggressive, penetrating much more with his passes and his one v ones. He was a real threat for us.”
Kuhn will look to continue the progress that he has made and get himself performing to the level shown against Livi on a weekly basis. Given that Yang is suspended at the weekend, the 24-year-old will almost certainly find himself on the team sheet as he looks to impress the manager.
