Over the last few months no-one can be in any doubt that Brendan Rodgers is looking to bring in quality signings to Celtic.
After approving the summer arrival of seven largely unproven signings the Irishman watched Celtic tumble out of Europe with one point from five matches, only Luis Palma of the new recruits made a positive impact. Odin Thiago Holm and Gus Lagerbielke marked their debuts in the elite competition with red cards.
On arrival in June Rodgers spoke about the challenge of Europe, of making progress at that level but in a far from spectacular group it was difficult to see where Celtic had improved.
Two successive underperforming transfer windows could leave Celtic vulnerable, relying on a decreasing core of players with three key players in last season’s treble triumph replaced by inferior signings.
Nicolas Kuhn looks like becoming the first January deal to be completed by Mark Lawwell, with around 50 senior appearances to his name he has similar experience to most of the summer signings but has the bonus of Ajax and Bayern Munich on his CV.
His current club, Rapid Vienna are sitting in sixth place in the Austrian league, the position that Hibs hold in the SPFL.
Chris Sutton doesn’t hide his colours in the media, equally he doesn’t compromise on expectation, telling Daily Record readers his gut reaction to the expected arrival of Kuhn:
Postecoglou was ahead of the game. Hatate was, and is, brilliant. Matt O’Riley. No-one was really looking at him either performing for MK Dons. Rodgers now needs to be ahead of the game in the same way and find this year’s versions of Hatate and O’Riley and not, with respect, versions of Jeremy Toljan or Oli Burke. Nicolas Kuhn feels project to me. And Rodgers has been quite clear he wants quality and not projects. So will the German be a Daizen Maeda or a Marian Shved?
Expectations on Kuhn, and any other January signings are going to be sky high when they make their Celtic debuts, every aspect will be examined by fans desperate to see improvement.
While the player will be the one in focus the reputation of Rodgers, Mark Lawwell and Michael Nicholson is also on the line with one week to go until Celtic face Buckie Thistle with 18 days left of the window. When the dealing stops Celtic face away matches at Aberdeen and Hibs in the first week of February.
? LISTEN: “I felt when I came in the summer that we probably needed four quality players.”
? Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says the club are working hard to add top level players to their squad. pic.twitter.com/1xwfCY5Zab
— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) December 1, 2023
Let’s see the player in action not every player you buy turns out the way you want look at other clubs they don’t always get what they think they have give the guy a chance
Meanwhile the fat controller chuckles in the background.
Chris Sutton is speaking for most Celtic supporters.
Enough is enough – when will the Celtic power-brokers stop treating the support as cash cows and spend the money sitting the club’s in bank accounts to sign quality experienced players not projects to be kept for a couple of years and sold on for a profit. We have become a ‘feeder club’.
We failed to win the ten-in-a-row because the parsimonious board refused to pay the going rate for Ivan Toney whose goals would have won us the title.
This window is showing signs of going the same way – a reluctance to operate in the real world where you need to spend more than a few million quid to get the quality required to ‘take us to the next level’.
Deja vu all over again as they say.
I remember all the humming and hawin when bringing in Kyogo,hatate,Maeda o’Reilly?..????
There’s always a moan about something with sutton.
A German winger,3 goals 7assists with a team 6th in Austrian bundesliga half way through season is decent.Im sure he will be an upgrade on Yang.
Peter Lawwell is back & pulling in the purse strings No Surprises there!!
OK, let’s assume this guy Kuhn is one of the ‘quality’ players requested by BR?
He has to hit he ground running: he has to make an immediate impact.
IF he is not a project player, then he will not be given – or need – any time ‘to settle in’,
because quality players can adapt quickly.
Kuhn will have to live up to heightened expectations from the support?