Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn is closing in on a move to Serie A after being scouted by Newcastle United.
The Magpies had tracked Kuhn’s progress at Celtic and watched the German in action on a number of occasions. One of those scouting missions came during Celtic’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich earlier this year.
Kuhn played 77 minutes that day at Celtic Park, but couldn’t prevent his side from slipping to a 2-1 defeat. Whilst the Magpies have prioritised other targets to strengthen their forward line this summer, Kuhn has remained as a cheaper alternative to some of their top targets.
However, a move for Kuhn is now off the cards as he closes in on a switch to Serie A side Como. Managed by Cesc Fabregas, Como have solidified themselves in Italian football’s top-flight and are set to make the Celtic man their next summer addition, parting with a reported £17.3m to sign the winger.
Speaking about Kuhn’s proposed move to Como, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers described it as ‘great business’ for both parties and praised the transfer model adopted by Celtic as they are set to net around £15m in profit on the winger. “We've virtually agreed between the club and Como, so it looks at this point that he'll be on his way, but we just have to wait for confirmation,” Rodgers said.
“I think it's very clear, the model of Celtic. In the 18 months, he's done absolutely fantastic for us. He was aware of interest towards the end of last season and that sort of followed through.
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“Other teams have joined in that interest over the summer and that's why a lot of the young players come. It's a wonderful, brilliant club to come to develop and improve. If he does end up going and signing for Como then it's great business all round.”
Newcastle United prepare for Celtic pre-season meeting
Eddie Howe’s side returned to pre-season training on Monday, albeit with no new faces after a slow start to the summer transfer market. The Magpies will begin to ramp up their preparations for the new campaign over the next few days and weeks as they look to put themselves in the best possible position to compete both domestically and in Europe.
Newcastle United will travel to Celtic Park on Saturday 19 July (3pm kick-off) to face Brendan Rodgers’ side in the inaugural Adidas Cup. The Magpies will head north of the border to take on Celtic, a club they could meet in next season’s Champions League, in their first match of pre-season before they jet-off to Asia to play games in Singapore and South Korea.
Eddie Howe’s side will take on Arsenal in Singapore before games against a K-League XI and Tottenham Hotspur in South Korea. Espanyol and Atletico Madrid will head to St James’ Park on the final weekend of pre-season, on Friday 8 August and Saturday 9 August respectively, before Newcastle United’s Premier League campaign gets underway against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday 16 August (12:30pm kick-off).
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