The former Rapid Vienna wide man thought opportunity had gone after weight loss and teammate broke his ankle.

Sometimes asking questions at a player’s big unveiling can feel a bit like pulling teeth.

But yesterday, as Nicolas Kuhn did the media rounds inside Celtic Park, it was precisely the opposite. And that’s not just because the German new boy happens to be as polite as he is charming. It’s because only a few weeks

He was actually having his teeth extracted in a Vienna dentist’s chair a few years ago, and the 24-year-old is still recovering from the traumatic experience.

Kuhn was unable to eat for a full twelve days. And once the pain had subsided, he started having nightmares after learning that Rapid Vienna would not permit him to leave and that Brendan Rodgers wanted him in Glasgow. All in all, Kuhn has had an extremely turbulent few weeks and hasn’t taken a moment to breathe since he was eventually granted authorization to board the plane to his new residence and sign a lucrative five-and-a-half year deal.

Asked if there was a moment when he feared this day might never arrive he said: “Yeah, they wanted to keep me in Vienna. They knew that if I was staying fit and played all the games they could even get more money or something.

“But I had a good relationship with the president and all the staff and trainers, so I was hoping that it would go quickly. I had some meetings with them and of course they wanted to keep me but I told them it was a great opportunity and I wanted to make that next step.

“I don’t know what more they wanted but they said maybe I can stay a little bit longer. But I told them I really want to come here and in the end I think it was a good result.

“In the beginning when the interest first came I knew it was not going to be so easy that they will just let me go and say goodbye! I knew that they were going to try to keep me.

In addition, a few wingers left, and during the most recent practise, another one broke his ankle. This implied that they needed to find a replacement for me. I had to wait until I received the go-ahead before leaving my house to wait for the next flight.

But ultimately, everything happened quickly. And Kuhn, the speed merchant, likes it that way. This season, he has reached a top speed of 37 km/h, giving Scotland’s defense a taste of what’s to come now that his £3 million transfer has been finalized.

However, Kuhn always knew in his heart that he would make a move like this even though he was unable to establish himself as a first-team player when still a young player at Ajax and later Bayern Munich. “We had Michael Reiziger as a coach who played for Barcelona at the time I was with Ajax,” he remarked. “Everyone of you is going to be a professional football player—we just have to wait to see where you go,” he said to us one day as we were working out on the field.

For instance, Ryan Gravenberch, who currently plays for Liverpool, and I played together. We occasionally keep in touch. There was Jurrien Timber, who is currently an Arsenal player.

“A lot of the guys made great steps and I saw a lot of talented players. I always wanted to make the same kind of move and now it’s my turn.”

Wednesday was the new Bhoy’s first training session at Lennoxtown under Celtic boss Rodgers and Kuhn admits he is yet to get fully
up to speed after a head-spinning few weeks. He added: “It was my first training session for four or five weeks because in Austria you have the winter break. I was just running at home.

“So of course today was a tough session for me and I felt it. But over the next few days I should get better and better.

“I also had my wisdom teeth taken out in the middle of December and I lost a lot of weight because I couldn’t eat for 12 days. So we need to try to get the kilos back. I need to try to build it all back up. I couldn’t really eat because it was too painful, I still have two on the left-hand side but I’m going to keep them!”

Kuhn now intends to sate his hunger by biting into any defenders who attempt to stand in his way. He responded, “I think I have the quality to play now and decide the game,” when asked what he would add to the Celtics club.

“I think I can have an effect right away. I’ve already had a few excellent conversations with the manager. He persuaded me that this is a really pleasant, spacious club. He wants to put me in circumstances that put my opponents in risk.

“I can then demonstrate my abilities. I have been growing better and better over the past two years.

Certain injuries are beyond your control. I’ve already visited large clubs and

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Exclusive! Gustaf Lagerbielke Celtic transfer attention increases as Serie A outfit join clubs chasing out of favour Swede

Hellas Verona are now looking at the defender while there’s hope a January deal for Jung Ho-yeon could be done.

The most recent Italian team to consider a loan move for Gustav Lagerbielke from Celtic is Hellas Verona.

The Swedish international has been connected to transfers to Leece and rival team Genoa.Record Sport is aware that Verona is currently giving the 23-year-old a lot of attention.Many Serie A teams have linked their names to Lagerbielke. Lagerbielke joined Celtic from Elfsborg in January, although he has had difficulty holding down a center defender position in Brendan Rodgers’ lineup.

In that specific match, he has trailed behind Maik Nawrocki, Liam Scales, Stephen Welsh, and Cameron Carter-Vickers. Given their desire to reduce payroll and pare down their roster, Celtic may let him go in January. Verona is not

unfamiliar with the Scottish marketplace. They are currently thinking about making some major financial moves for the young left-back Josh Doig, who they signed from Hibs.

Although Doig’s transfer to Marseille in France fell through earlier this week, Torino and Sassuolo are still interested in him. If Verona sells Doig, they may use a portion of the proceeds to make a move for Rangers defender Ridvan Yilmaz, who has already seen Galatasaray’s deal for him fall through.

Brendan Rodgers, the manager of Celtic, wants to bolster his team. He is eager to add a muscular striker and a left-back in addition to the German winger Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna.

Celtic have been consistently linked with a loan move for Liverpool’s Owen Beck. He spent the first half of the season at Dundee, where he impressed before he was recalled due to an injury crisis at Anfield.

The Welsh under-21 international is still a member of Liverpool’s first team, but if circumstances change closer to the window’s end and they don’t sign a replacement before then, Celtic may make a bid. Tiago Araujo is another candidate for the left-sided spot that Celtic is interested in, but they don’t think he’s worth the £4 million that Estoril is asking.

Jung Ho-yeon, a midfielder for FC Gwangju, has also had discussions with Celtic. Gwangju would prefer that the South Korean depart before the end of the year, but there’s a good chance a trade might happen before the window closes.