Celtic have agreed a deal to sign Nicholas Kuhn next

It was February 2025 when Scottish champions Celtic ran Bayern Munich so hard in the play-offs of the Champions League, Nicolas Kuhn scoring the opening goal that night in Bavaria.

A few months later, the Parkhead side crashed out of the competition before it had even started in earnest after their shock defeat against Kairat Almaty, which put off the decision to not be heavily recruited until after the qualification campaign.

There will be fears that the Hoops will face a similar situation as this, with a month to go before the start of the new season and no signings in the club so far.

With both Rangers and Hearts doing their extensive business this summer, Martin O’Neill’s men already seem to be playing catch-up. However, could more good news be on the way soon?

Celtic now head to Glasgow to close out the summer transfer window

It says a lot for Parkhead officials that the only major piece of business this summer has been extending Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contract at the club, even though the England international has failed to feature at all in the last four Premiership games of the season.

With a number of loanees all returning to their parent clubs, and question marks surrounding the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels, there is a need for a major overhaul this summer.

Another area that looks very light is the forward line, with O’Neill believed to be the club’s leading free-scorer for Motherwell, Tawanda Maswanhise.

Whether that succeeds remains to be seen, although the deal that looks set to come to an end is what Celtic are seeking for Qarabag star, Camilo Duran.

According to the Azerbaijani, Sport Info, the 24-year-old player is on his way to Glasgow to undergo a medical examination, as he has agreed with the team playing in the Premiership.

The Colombian has agreed a ‘long-term contract’, believed to be three years with an option to extend, and in terms of transfer fee, it is suggested elsewhere that he could cost around £5.5m.

Why Celtic could sign another Nicolas Kuhn

For all the frustration surrounding Celtic’s recruitment after Ange Postecoglou, that doesn’t mean they haven’t enjoyed the odd success story or two.

This season alone, O’Neill and co reaped the rewards of the club’s £1.7m investment in 21-goal hero Benjamin Nygren, with the Swede proving another bargain in the mold of the aforementioned Kuhn.

Like Duran, Kuhn was 24 when he moved from Rapid Vienna in January 2024, joining for around £3m to strengthen Brendan Rodgers’ squad.

After a quiet first six months in Glasgow, the German defender came to life in that summer’s pre-season, before registering 36 goals and assists in all competitions in 2024/25.

He had actually registered just 17 goals in 51 games for Austria, yet Celtic retired and were handsomely rewarded, selling the player to Como in a £16.5m deal last summer.

Hopefully, Duran can be another left-footed star at the club, the South American fresh off the back of a decent season with Qarabag.

Although he is now mostly used as a center forward, he mirrors Kuhn as a potential real threat on the right flank when he gets on his favored foot.

His record also at his current club is not quite the same as Kuhn’s return to Vienna, scoring 25 goals and assisting them in his first 45 games in Azerbaijan.

Formerly on the books of Portuguese club Portimonense, who scored just five of his 30 goals, Duran has really come to life in the last 12 months or so, notably netting five times in last season’s Champions League run.

In his ten appearances in the competition, he has scored every 151 minutes, while impressively missing only three ‘big chances’, boasting a goal conversion rate of 25%.

Again, that record compares favorably with Kuhn’s figures from last year, in 2024/25 which saw the now 26-year-old score three goals, miss one ‘big chance’ and boast a goal conversion rate of 38%, scoring once every 264 minutes in his ten outings.

Another thing to like about Duran is that he can also be a true playmaker, as he bagged five assists in the league last season, as many as Kuhn recorded in his last half-season in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Whether as a striker or a number nine, Duran could breathe new life into Celtic’s stuttering forward line, which could mark the perfect start to the summer.