Transfer 'door opens' for Celtic as club official makes honest price tag claim

Nicolas Kuhn is reportedly closing in on a permanent move to Celtic after it became clear that Rapid Vienna could be tempted into selling the winger.

The German-born wide man emerged on the Hoops' transfer radar earlier this month and initial reports claimed he could be signed for around £2.5million this month, with Rapid looking to net almost four times the £500,000 they signed him for.

Kuhn, who has scored seven goals and provided 10 assists across an 18-month spell in the Austrian Bundesliga, was previously on the books of Bayern Munich before moving to Rapid in the summer of 2022.

Rapid's sporting director Markus Katzer previously attempted to suppress any transfer speculation by suggesting he was expecting all of their players to remain at the club beyond January. He stated: "I assume that everyone will be with us in the second half of the season. I haven't heard anything to the contrary."

However, the club official now appears to have changed his tune after hinting that if a high offer is forthcoming for the 24-year-old, they would need to consider it. Speaking to Sky Sports, he admitted: "Every player has his price. If the offer is right, of course you have to deal with it." 

Kuhn began his career in the youth academy system at St. Pauli, Hannover 96 and RB Leipzig before moving to Dutch giants Ajax in January 2018 for a fee of €2 million. He featured mostly for the club's second team and would later return to Germany after earning a three-year contract with Bayern following an impressive loan spell with the reserves.