Celtic confirm signing of German winger Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna

Celtic have confirmed the signing of Nicolas Kuhn as the league leaders finalise their first incoming of the January transfer window.

The 24-year-old German winger joins from Austrian side Rapid Vienna on a five-and-a-half-year-deal.

He will be in the squad and available for selection this weekend when the Hoops return to action following a two-week winter break to host Highland league side Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup.

Kuhn represents Celtic’s first January signing as the champions look to bolster their squad for the second half of the season.

He will wear the number 10 jersey.

🍀 A new nümber 10… pic.twitter.com/Ekx5f36BsV
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 16, 2024

Celtic confirmed the signing on Tuesday.

The former Ajax and Bayern Munich youngster, who played for Germany under-20s, said: “I feel great that I’m finally here and I can’t wait. Celtic is one of the biggest clubs around and I’m really happy to be here.

“I am really motivated to do well for this great club and I want to get working immediately as we face our challenges in the League and the Cup this year, so I’m really excited for what’s coming.

“In the end, at Celtic, it’s about doing all we can to win every game, so that is the challenge here. I can’t wait to get going and do my very best for our supporters.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We are delighted to welcome Nicolas to Celtic. We believe he is a dynamic player who has an excellent level of quality and all the attributes to fit well into our style of play.

“He has the profile we are looking for, he has a real attacking intent, a player with great pace and ideas, the ability to create and score goals and a player with a great energy and work ethic.

“He is someone who can play wide on both sides so he brings with him that versatility for us too, and myself and the coaches here really look forward to working with him.”

South Korean midfielder Kwon completed a loan deal St Mirren last week for the the remainder of the season with Japanese midfielder Ideguchi finalising a permanent move to the J-League.

Brendan Rodgers will also be without Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Marco Tillio, Hyeongyu Oh and Yang for the remainder of their countries time at the Asian Cup in Qatar.

And with Liel Abada just returning from injury before the break a new winger was pinpointed as a priority position this window.

A striker may also be on their wish-list with Kyogo their only available centre-forward while Oh and Maeda are in Qatar.