Celtic confident of signing £10m World Cup star

12 months on from leaving Celtic, Nicolas Kuhn is the latest player to learn that the grass is not always greener after a move away from Parkhead.

The German forward was sold to Italian side Como for a fee of £16.5m in the summer transfer window last year, after scoring 24 goals in 69 appearances during his 18-month stint in Glasgow.

Unfortunately, the former Bayern Munich youngster only scored one goal and provided two assists in 26 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A outfit, failing to offer quality on a regular basis.

Como have now made him available for a transfer away from the club and he could swiftly move on from Italy just one season after a big-money move from Celtic.

Why Celtic need to find their next iteration of Nicolas Kuhn

The Hoops need to find their next iteration of Kuhn, provided they do not do what they did with Jota and re-sign him, because they currently lack a left-footed option on the right flank.

Benjamin Nygren and Luke McCowan, two left-footed players, have been deployed on the right at times by Martin O’Neill, but they are both more effective and more comfortable in central areas.

The only natural right-sided wingers in the squad are Hyun-jun Yang and James Forrest, who are both right-footed, and neither of them hit double figures for goals contributions last term in the Scottish Premiership.

Yang and Forrest’s struggles at times in the league also suggest that Celtic need a winger who can offer more consistent quality as a creative threat, as they combined for two assists in 58 appearances.

The Hoops, therefore, need to find a left-footed right winger who has the potential to carry a consistent creative threat next season, so that they can finally replace Kuhn after 12 months without the German star.

How Celtic can finally replace Kuhn

O’Neill and the recruitment department have identified the right wing as an area that needs to be strengthened, as they are already looking at a player who could be their next iteration of Kuhn.

Football Insider reports that Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Real Oviedo attacker Haissem Hassan before the end of the summer transfer window.

The outlet claims that the Egypt international has a £10m release clause in his contract with the Spanish side, but the Hoops believe that they will be able to agree a deal for less than that.

It states that the Premiership champions are ‘certain’ that they will be able to sign him for less than £10m, as his contract at Real Oviedo is set to expire next summer.

The 24-year-old winger could be the replacement for Kuhn that they have needed for the last 12 months because he is a left-footed forward who predominantly plays on the right side.

Celtic have not had a left-footed player who could regularly cut in from the right to deliver goals and assists since they sold the German forward to Como, which is why they must push to bring in that profile of player this summer.

Hassan fits the bill from a stylistic perspective, as a left-footed right winger, and the club are confident that they can get a deal done for a bargain fee, given his contractual situation, which makes this an attractive signing on paper.

The only concern, though, is that he has yet to provide consistent quality at the top end of the pitch in his career so far, with zero goals and three assists in LaLiga last term.

Hassan, who scored four goals and provided three assists in LaLiga 2 in the 2024/25 campaign, is still an up-and-coming talent who is looking for his breakout season, and that could come at Parkhead.

His return of five completed dribbles and one assist in two games at the World Cup for Egypt, assisting a goal against reigning champions Argentina, also shows that he has the quality to perform on the highest stage.

That does not guarantee that he will be a success for Celtic, of course, but Hassan looks like a risk worth taking for the Hoops in their pursuit of finding the next Kuhn.