Celtic were hit with a big blow in the summer transfer window when they sold German winger Nicolas Kuhn to Serie A side Como for a fee of £16.5m.
The left-footed star produced 21 goals and 15 assists in 51 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants in the 2024/25 campaign, per Transfermarkt, after a return of three goals and three assists in 18 games during the second half of the previous season.
Kuhn was signed from Rapid Vienna for a fee of £3m in January 2024, which turned out to be a bargain, and the Hoops struggled to replicate that success with their signings last season.
Ranking Celtic's signings from the 2024/25 season
In the 2024/25 campaign, Brendan Rodgers made ten additions to his first-team squad across the summer and winter windows, eight of which were on permanent deals.
Arne Engels was the headline signing for £11m from Augsburg, a club-record deal, but he has not quite hit the heights that should be expected for a player brought in for that kind of money.
The Belgian star has scored three non-penalty goals, with nine scored from the spot, and provided 17 assists in 80 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, which is a fairly average return given the money spent on him.
Because of that performance versus expectation aspect, we have ranked him fifth out of the ten signings, with Kasper Schmeichel, who has been the club’s number one for 18 months after joining on a free, Luke McCowan, Jota, and Auston Trusty ahead of him.
Meanwhile, we have ranked the likes of Alex Valle, Jeffrey Schlupp, and Viljami Sinisalo, who made his first league appearance of the season on Saturday, at the bottom of the pile, as they have rarely or rarely featured in a Celtic shirt.
Ranking Celtic’s 2024/25 signings
Rank
Player
1
Auston Trusty
2
Jota
3
Luke McCowan
4
Kasper Schmeichel
5
Arne Engels
6
Paulo Bernardo
7
Adam Idah
8
Jeffrey Schlupp
9
Alex Valle
10
Viljami Sinisalo
As you can see in the table above, Trusty ranks in first place. That is because the £6m signing from Sheffield United has established himself as the main man at the back under Wilfried Nancy, starting every game so far.
The USA international has won 65% of his ground duels and 67% of his aerial duels in the Scottish Premiership this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he has been incredibly dominant in the league.
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None of those signings have come close to achieving what Nicolas Kuhn did during his time at Parkhead, though, and a signing from this summer’s crop of arrivals is on his way to becoming their next version of the German.
Celtic's best signing since Nicolas Kuhn
As aforementioned, the left-footed winger provided a huge threat at the top end of the pitch for the Scottish giants, and none of last season’s additions have come close to replacing that as of yet.
However, Celtic hit the jackpot when they swooped to sign Benjamin Nygren from Nordsjaelland for a reported fee of £1.3m in the summer, as he looks like being their best signing since Kuhn.
The Sweden international has hit the ground running at Parkhead to provide a regular threat in the final third, whether that has been from a right wing, central midfield, or attacking midfield position.
Nygren became the first player in the Celtic squad, per Transfermarkt, to hit double figures for goals in all competitions when he scored twice in the win over Livingston in the Premiership on Saturday.
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On top of his quality as a goalscorer, the £25k-per-week star has also provided five assists for the team. Only Kieran Tierney (six) and Daizen Maeda (six) have produced more assists, per Transfermarkt.
Premiership per 90
Kuhn (24/25)
Nygren (25/26)
xG
0.46
0.60
Goals
0.62
0.72
Shots on target
1.30
1.53
xA
0.34
0.31
Chances created
2.49
2.42
Assists
0.43
0.18
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Nygren’s current performance level is very similar to what Kuhn produced in the Premiership last season, with similar chance creation numbers with much worse finishing from his teammates.
These statistics illustrate the incredible impact that the Swedish star has had in Glasgow this season, as he provides an exceptional threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
No Celtic player has produced more goals and assists (15) than Nygren in all competitions, and he has already scored more non-penalty goals for the club than Jota (since he re-joined), Engels, Bernardo, and McCowan.
Therefore, it is fair to say that he is currently looking like the best signing since Kuhn, especially given the £1.3m fee he was signed for, because of his impressive performances this season.
Not just Ralston: Celtic flop must now never start again under Nancy
Celtic saw off a spirited Livingston following a first-half thriller on Saturday afternoon.
1 ByRobbie Walls