Celtic

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Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn's future was a topic of conversation on Saturday's BBC Sportsound programme.

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed the German forward is poised to join Serie A club Como, with the Scottish champions' manager calling it "great business all round".

Here's the best of what the pundits said:

Former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton: "Looking at his performance levels, Kuhn's blown hot and cold at points. At the tail end of last season, he looked like a player who was ready to go.

"I don't think Rodgers is the type of manger who would wait about and try to encourage you to stay at Celtic and apply yourself.

"For both parties it looks like it could be a pretty fair deal. He's not irreplaceable."

Former Scottish Premiership striker Rory Loy: "If you are Celtic and you have a player there blowing hot and cold, managers want players they can trust.

"If you don't have that unwavering trust that he's going to the the same player next season as he was last season, you grab Como's hand off at £15m."

Former Scotland striker Billy Dodds: "Money wise, it's the best time to sell. Matt O'Riley, now it's Kuhn. If you buy low and sell for a lot of money, it's no-brainer [to sell now]."

We asked for your views on the signing of Hayato Inamura after the Japanese centre-back joined Celtic on a four-year contract.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Kevin: He should be a great improvement on the combined efforts of Liam Scales and Auston Trusty.

Hugh: Based on his playing record, this signing is either a masterstroke by our scouting and recruitment team or an act of sheer folly - time will tell. Either way for £250,000 it is probably a risk worth taking. Key to it all will be how much game time he will be given?

John: Was hoping to sign a better known centre-half but will see how he turns out. Signing him from a team that's near bottom of the J League, doubt he's used to our standard.

Ray: Four-year deal for a reason - to make money on him if it works out like many others. Won't be a first-team pick initially but will be tested to see if he has physical presence at the back, which is an Achilles heel clearly shown last season. Bit of a gamble but worth taking. Most of our Japanese players have delivered to date.

Alec: All we hear is about 'the model' and it's hard to comment on players when you have not seen them play or they play at a lower standard. However, we need proven talent through the door, not projects. The squad is beginning to look bare and untested with little sign of it being strengthened.

John: Could be a decent signing for the money paid, hopefully a step up from error-prone Trusty, who doesn't fill me with confidence any time he plays.

Celtic are eyeing £3m-rated Swedish winger Isak Jansson after the 23-year-old's impressive campaign with Rapid Vienna. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Former Celtic winger Mikey Johnston is travelling to Rio after West Bromwich Albion accepted a £5m offer from Flamengo, for the 26-year-old, with the Scottish champions having a sell-on agreement for Glasgow-born player. (Barry Anderson on X), external

Dunfermline Athletic head coach Neil Lennon says they are closing in on a deal for 19-year-old defender Alasdair Davidson, who has been on trial after leaving Celtic, but he has decided not to pursue former Cove Rangers goalkeeper Balint Damus. (Sunday Mail), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Celtic defender Maik Nawrocki has completed a season-long loan move to Hannover 96, which includes an option to make the move permanent in 2026.

The 24-year-old Pole moved to the Scottish champions from Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2023 but managed just 18 appearances, making three Premiership starts last season.

Discussing the arrangement on Friday, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers said: "Maik's never really consistently been able to stay fit and really take that spot.

"He's had a couple of years where he hasn't quite got the games that he would have liked. So it's important that he goes out and plays."

Nawrocki becomes Hannover's 14th new signing of the summer as they look to improve on their ninth place finish in Bundesliga 2 last term.

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Celtic will make a decision over Johnny Kenny's future during pre-season with "a host of clubs" keen on taking the 22-year-old striker on loan.

Kenny scored the only goal of the game as the Scottish champions overcame Glasgow rivals Queen's Park in Friday's pre-season friendly.

Following the match at City Stadium, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers revealed: "There's been a host of clubs that want to take him on loan.

"So I just want to have a look in pre-season just to see where we're at and see what's going to be the best for his development."

Kenny had a loan spell with Queen's Park shortly after joining Celtic from Sligo Rovers and has spent 2023 and 2024 back in his homeland with Shamrock Rovers.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international scored 20 goals in 38 appearances last year for the side who finished runners-up in the League of Ireland Premier Division, finding the net four times in the Conference League, before nine games and one goal for Celtic at the end of last season, eight as a substitute.

"We obviously want him to be a Celtic player," Rodgers added. "He's a goalscorer. There's absolutely no doubt about that.

"It's what's going to be the best for him and Celtic and whether that's going to be here or whether it's just go away and get some more games and play. But I'll assess that over pre-season."

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has no concerns about key centre-half Cameron Carter-Vickers being fit for the start of the season.

The 27-year-old Englishman underwent minor surgery in the close-season to deal with a knee issue that was bothering him towards the end of last term.

Rodgers reported that Carter-Vickers has been undergoing light training and expects him to be ready in good time for the Scottish Premiership opener at home to St Mirren in four weeks.

"He had some issues around the end of last season," he said after a 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Queen's Park. "But we decided this was really important for him - he needed to get the operation.

"We knew then the recovery time would just be the week or so. He'd miss a week. But he's back working again and he'll hopefully be ready within the next few weeks."

Rodgers, who is phasing his players back into pre-season on a staggered basis, also gave a positive update on the fitness of Japan midfielder Reo Hatate, who missed last season's Scottish Cup final through injury.

"I gave him an extra few days to come back in and he'll be fine," he added.

The transfer fee agreed with Como for Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn is £16.5m, with the clubs ironing out the finer details of potential add-ons. (Anthony Joseph on X), external

Brentford, Fenerbahce, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all keen on Celtic forward Daizen Maeda, but they will have to pay more than £25m to persuade the Scottish champions to part with the 27-year-old Japan international. (Football Insider), external

Celtic centre-back Maik Nawrocki has completed a medical with Hannover 96 as the 24-year-old prepares for a season-long loan to the Bundesliga 2 club. (Sky Sports), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Johnny Kenny's first-half strike was enough for Celtic to pick up a win in their first pre-season friendly against Queen's Park.

First-team regulars Auston Trusty, Callum McGregor, Arne Engels and Luke McCowan all started for Brendan Rodgers' side against the Championship outfit.

Kenny, who worked his way into the matchday squad at the tail end of last season, fired the Scottish champions into the lead from close range.

Rodgers rotated his side at the break, handed minutes to youth players with Stephen Welsh the most experienced of the bunch and with the captain's armband.

Summer signing Ross Doohan played 63 minutes between the sticks.

Celtic now travel to Ireland to take on Cork City in four days.

Celtic have signed Hayato Inamura on a four-year contract after the Japanese centre-half left Albirex Niigata in his homeland.

The 23-year-old said he "used to imitate" fellow countryman and Celtic legend Shunsuke Nakamura.

After much speculation, he is finally here. Celtic fans, what do you make of his signing?

Give us your take here.

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New defender Hayato Inamura "used to imitate" fellow countryman and Celtic legend Shunsuke Nakamura, and will wear number 25 like his hero did.

Inamura, 23, has joined on a four-year deal from J-League club Albirex Niigata and wants to add to the success enjoyed by previous and current Japanese stars alike.

"Many Japanese players have had success at this club," he told the club's website.

"Across the world, this is a massive club and it's really well known. I am truly excited to be joining Celtic. It's a huge opportunity for me.

"So far, even the current Japanese players have been performing at a high level. I think that is why there are expectations on Japanese players. I really want to live up to those expectations and do my best.

"The reason why I chose 25 is because out of the options I was given, that one really stood out to me.

"As for Nakamura, I used to imitate his kicking style when I was a kid. He was one of my favourite players."

Listen as Martin Dowden previews the season ahead for Celtic with podcaster Paul John Dykes and comedian Marc Jennings.

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Celtic have agreed to sell winger Nicolas Kuhn to Como for €19m, with the 25-year-old German poised for a medical with personal terms having been agreed in principle with the Serie A club. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Nicolas Kuhn will miss Celtic's friendly with Queen's Park after agreeing a lucrative long-term deal with Como, who are now ironing out the final details. (Daily Record), external

Celtic will make a profit of around £14m from the sale of Nicolas Kuhn, who they bought for £3m from Rapid Vienna 18 months ago. (The National), external

Celtic are preparing a bid for 22-year-old Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton, who is valued at £15m, amid competition from other clubs. (Sportsboom), external

Brondby are close to selling striker Mathias Kvistgaarden, in whom Celtic have previously shown interest, to Lens, according to Tipsbladet. (Tipsbladet via Glasgow Times), external

Rennes are in advanced negotiations with Birmingham City over Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi and the deal could match the £10m the French club paid Celtic for the 30-year-old in January. (L'Equipe), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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Leaving Celtic was "the toughest decision" Greg Taylor has made in his career as the Scotland defender signs with Greek outfit PAOK.

Manager Brendan Rodgers wanted to retain the 27-year-old's services despite agreeing in January the return of fellow Scotland defender Tierney once his contract ran out this summer with Arsenal.

While Taylor said it would be "unfair" to pin his international teammate's return as the reason he moved on, the left-back admits there were "a million things to weigh up".

"It's probably the toughest decision I've had in my career, definitely," he told Sky Sports.

"When I left Kilmarnock back in 2019, it was that bit easier because I was progressing. I wanted to go and try and play for the biggest team in Scotland.

"I think at that time there wasn't many that believed I would play as many games as I did, but the one person that really did was myself.

"I was lucky to go and play 200 plus games for Celtic, which was unbelievable.

"It wasn't easy. There were a million things to weigh up, but I just felt it was the right time to do it. I wanted to play regularly and that's probably the big factor."

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Callum McGregor believes Celtic's uplifting campaign in last season's Champions League will "stand us in good stead" for the play-off round next month.

After qualifying automatically for the Champions League in each of the previous three seasons, Celtic - who reached the knockout phase last term - will have to come through a play-off round in August to reach the main phase of the tournament due to a drop in Scotland's position in UEFA's association ranking for the five-year period from the 2019-20 to 2023-24 campaigns.

Celtic came agonisingly close to their stay in last season's tournament - for an extra 30 minutes at least - but conceded a 94th-minute goal in Munich to lose on aggregate to the German giants.

"Of course, if we had our way then we would want to be straight in but we have to understand that that is just part and parcel of it," McGregor said.

"We've been here a number of times throughout the years. We believe that when we've been in the competition, especially last season, we've done well but no-one has the God-given right to be put in there right away.

"You have to earn your place. For the play-off games, there'll be five or six, seven or eight teams who all think they're good enough to be there but you have to earn the right.

"It's an amazing competition and I think we saw great growth in the team last season throughout the 10 games to the point there where we went away to Bayern Munich and were so close to getting a result.

"That should stand us in good stead but I don't want to take anything for granted so let's get in there first and hopefully we can have a similar campaign and even improve on that as well."

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Como will make one last attempt to sign winger Nicolas Kuhn from Celtic, but if they are not successful, they will turn their attentions to Jayden Addai from AZ Alkmaar. (Gianluca di Marzio), external

Albirex Niigata centre-back Hayato Inamura is on his way to London to complete a medical with Celtic, who have agreed a transfer fee in the region of £250,000 for the 23-year-old. (Sky Sports), external

Braga are close to agreeing a deal worth £2m for 25-year-old Celtic centre-back Gustaf Lagerbielke. (Sky Sports), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip in full.

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Captain Callum McGregor will use May's painful Scottish Cup final defeat to "fuel the fire" for more success with Celtic.

The former Scotland midfielder endured what he described as "the worst moment I've ever had in football" after his penalty was saved by Aberdeen keeper Dimitar Mitov in a surprise shootout defeat to the Dons.

More than five weeks on from his Hampden agony, McGregor is revitalised, refocused and "hungry" to lead Celtic towards more silverware.

"It was a tough moment, there's no shying away from that," the 32-year-old said. "I think what that does is it gives you more motivation to go and achieve even more.

"It's the ones you don't win that stay with you and fuel the fire for you, so I had a couple of weeks off to digest it and try and find a positive somewhere in it.

"I've been here a long time, there's highs, there's lows and you have to try and find an even keel and keep yourself in a nice balanced headspace.

"There's been ups and downs throughout my career and I've always managed to bounce back, so I don't see this being any different."