Nicolas Kuhn lifts lid on Celtic move and the Brendan Rodgers call that convinced him to turn down other offers

German winger hopes move to Parkhead can lead to senior international call-up

New Celtic signing Nicolas Kuhn was paraded at Parkhead on Wednesday. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

New Celtic signing Nicolas Kuhn believes Parkhead is the perfect place to achieve his ambitions at club and country level after revealing he turned down other offers to join the Scottish champions.

The 24-year-old attacker, who signed a five-and-a-half-year deal from Rapid Vienna on Tuesday, played at youth level for Germany up until under-20s and was in the academy teams of RB Leipzig and Ajax before joining Bayern Munich in 2020 following an initial loan move.

Kuhn did not quite make the breakthrough at those European giants before moving to Austria in 2022 but is now looking to kick on, with Champions League football and a senior call-up for Germany in his sights.

Speaking at Celtic Park, he said: “Of course they (Ajax and Bayern) were big clubs. I learned a lot, it was a good school.

"I think at Ajax I did really good in the youths. When I first arrived, we won the second league with the second team. I trained the whole time with the first team. In the youth league, I was the top scorer and I deserved a chance.

“But then I made the move to Bayern. After the first season, we were also champions with the second team in the third league in Germany. Then there were some private problems so I made a step back.

“People were looking at where I was playing [in Austria] but for me it was a good step. So I can take two steps forward now. I’ve improved a lot, I think. I’ve now played regularly and I’ve stayed fit. That’s the most important thing. Now I can show what I’m able to do.

“When I was at Erzgebirge Aue for one year on loan, I said I wanted to play in the Champions League and for the national team. Now I’ve made a big step to a big club. So, of course, in the future, I want to play for the national team as well.”

Kuhn insists the call from Celtic and a chat with boss Brendan Rodgers made up his mind to make the move to Glasgow.

He said: “He convinced me to come here and everything he told me was really nice and I had the first training session today. There was some interest from other clubs but the moment I received the message I didn’t think about going somewhere else.”