Kuhn joins chorus of Celtic stars hoping Idah stays put

Nicolas Kuhn savoured the “unbelievable” celebrations after clinching a league and cup double early in his Celtic career but now wants to take his profession in Scotland to a new level – and he hopes his Irish international team-mate Adam Idah is along for the ride.

The winger arrived in January on the back of a recent dental operation that saw him lose a significant amount of weight and took time to recover his fitness. Corkman Idah, who arrived at the same time, scored nine goals in 19 appearances.

Former Rapid Vienna player, Kuhn, made 18 appearances – 11 of them from the start – but he feels a full pre-season with the team will help fire him.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart’s retirement has created a major vacancy but manager Brendan Rodgers is looking to limit the disruption to his team by re-signing Norwich striker Idah and Benfica midfielder Paulo Bernardo following loan spells.

The pair had the final say in the season when Idah knocked home the rebound from Bernardo’s swerving shot to clinch a late Hampden victory over Rangers.

On Idah, Kuhn said: “He gave me the first assist for my first goal here, so it was a nice start for both of us. And he’s a good player, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.

“I was quite close with with Paulo also, so I would be happy if he comes back and he’s a great player. I think in the cup final, he also had a special moment. So it would be great to have him back.”

The 24-year-old said: “For the team, it’s going to be the same targets as last year. We want to win every trophy. And for me personally, of course I want to show everyone what I can do.

“The beginning was quite difficult coming in, of course, I’ve spoken a lot of times now about the weight loss. At the end I was feeling good, I came more into the team, connected with everyone. I’m happy to have a full pre-season, though.

“The biggest problem I had in the beginning was that the fitness was not on the level. So now we’re working on it and hopefully it’s going to be perfect for the start of the season.

“I had a couple of good games, but I have to show that every game, so that’s the main thing.”

Kuhn admitted the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Gas Scottish Cup celebrations exceeded his expectations.

“It was probably even better,” he said. “It was unbelievable, unbelievable. The celebrations were really nice. And of course, if you have it once, then you want more of it.

“It was nice to have those moments already with the team and also, for example, saying goodbye to Joe (Hart) was a special moment, I think for the whole team.

“He was a really nice guy and we are still in contact, but I think there’s a group getting closer together. So I think that’s that’s good for the next season as well.”

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