Red-hot Kuhn is fast becoming Celtic’s main man in attack, eclipsing even Kyogo and Maeda after a blistering start to the season

In January, Nicolas Kuhn came on as a substitute and made his debut for Celtic in a rather forgettable 1-0 home win over Ross County.

Having signed a five-and-a-half-year contract for a fee of around £3 million from Rapid Vienna, much was expected of Kuhn upon his arrival in Glasgow.

But his talents were not immediately apparent. The German winger scored just three goals in eighteen games in the second half of last season.

There were health problems to overcome, particularly dental problems which led to him losing almost a stone in weight.

He was written off in some quarters, with fans fearing the club had signed yet another ineffective wide player, something they had built up over the last few years.

But Kuhn now seems to be a reborn player. Against County at Dingwall on Sunday he fired the late winner, maintaining Celtic’s 100 per cent start to the new domestic season.

Written off and ridiculed just a few months ago, the 24-year-old has been Celtic’s main man this season. His numbers are unmistakable.

Kuhn has scored six goals and provided eight assists in 11 games in all competitions so far this season.

His fingerprints are all over the run of results at the start of the new season, which has seen Celtic enter their international breakthrough into the top flight of the league and the semi-finals of the League Cup unbeaten.

Now fully fit and feeling the benefits of a full pre-season under his belt, Kuhn said: ‘I’ve been working on that a lot [my finishing] training. Preseason was important for me because I had to connect with everyone on the team.

“In terms of my numbers with goals and assists, it’s been good so far… Yes, I’m happy.

‘We knew it would be a difficult game against Ross County. For us, the passing was a bit too slow in the first half, the last pass was missing and I think we made it a bit difficult for ourselves.

‘We talked about it at half-time and we did a much better job in the second half. The manager talked about the resilience and belief, the attitude that this team has.

‘I was very happy to score the winner and continue this start to the season. I think we’re in a good position.”

Trailing 1-0 to a first-half penalty from County striker Ronan Hale, Celtic were staring down the barrel of another defeat in Dingwall.

After last week’s Champions League humiliation against Borussia Dortmund, Brendan Rodgers’ side had to dig deep and show resilience to overcome a stubborn County side.

When Alistair Johnston equalized with 15 minutes to play, it set the stage for Kuhn’s winner just two minutes before full-time.

It was a sublime pass from Johnston, with the right-back cutting County wide open with a superb through ball for Kuhn to latch on to.

He cut inside and placed a cool finish into the far corner, maintaining Celtic’s 100 percent start and his own excellent form this season.

In terms of absolute productivity and on current form, Kuhn is ahead of Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda and is now the frontrunner in Celtic’s front three.

‘It was an incredible pass from Ali [Johnston] for the purpose. I saw Kyogo waiting for the pass, but I thought he might be offside, so I didn’t go over, and that worked out well.

‘I think we did well in the end. Like I said, the first half wasn’t the way we wanted it to be, but we showed a great mentality and got the win in the end.”

Even during booking, there were some suggestions that Kuhn could have been sent off as he ran over to hug the crowd and celebrate with supporters after scoring the winner.

He insisted it never occurred to him, saying: ‘It was great to celebrate with them. I’m just happy that we got the three points in the end because I think it was very important to go into the international break with a win.

‘I wasn’t really afraid of a red card. I don’t think the first one was deserved. I didn’t even know what the first booking was for. But to be honest, I haven’t really thought about it.’

Rodgers will take his players to Ireland this week for a friendly with Sligo Rovers, with the Celtic boss bringing a mixed team of youth and first-team players in need of minutes.

Kuhn is expected to be among those left at home and given time to rest and recover, with Rodgers delighted with the impact the German winger has made at the start of the new season.

“He’s been absolutely brilliant for us,” Rodgers said. ‘I think his fitness looks more robust now, which is important.

‘He is busy with the games and seems a real threat to us. He makes a big contribution and you need your wingers for that. They have to score goals and score goals, but also do the dirty side of the game. And he’s doing really well.’