Celtic close in on first January signing - former Ajax and Bayern Munich attacker once labelled 'next Messi'

Negotations ongoing for £3m transfer of former Germany youth international

Nicolas Kuhn is closing in on a move to Celtic from Rapid Vienna. (Photo by Carsten Harz/Getty Images)

Celtic are closing in on their first signing of the January transfer window as negotations continue with Rapid Vienna for winger Nicolas Kuhn.

The Parkhead side opened formal discussions with the Austrian club earlier this week over a move for the 24-year-old German having tracked his progress over a number of months.

Rapid are reported to be seeking a fee in the region of 3 million euros for a player who has scored three goals and contributed seven assists in 22 appearances this season.

Kuhn spent three years in the RB Leipzig youth ranks before earning a 2 million euros move to Ajax at the age of 18. He played for the Amsterdam side's second team before being signed by Bayern Munich, initially on loan, in 2020.

The attacker, who has played for Germany at every youth level up to Under-20s, was a regular in Bayern’s second team until 2022 when he made the move to Austria. His performances for Germany at the Under-17 World Cup held in India in 2017 led to him being labelled the "next Messi" by the German press.

Rapid sporting director Markus Katzer confirmed that his club have received offers for player, stating: "In principle, I don't want to comment on any rumours. But I can confirm that we actually have concrete offers on the table for Nicolas Kuhn, but I don't want to name the interested clubs."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has expressed a desire to add quallity to his ranks for the second half of the season with several players set to be missing when the squad returns from the winter break. Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Marco Tilio, Hyun-jun Yang and Hyeon-gyu Oh are all on international duty at the Asian Cup, while Nat Phillips has returned to Liverpool at the end of his loan deal. Yosuke Ideguchi completed a move to Vissel Kobe earlier this week, having spent the last year on loan in Japan, while defender Gustaf Lagerbielke is the subject of a loan bid from Serie A side Lecce.

Further departures are possible this month as Rodgers looked to trim his squad to make way for potentially three arrivals – a left-back, striker, and a winger, who now looks likely to be Kuhn.