Celtic are on the other side of the last international break of the 2024/25 campaign and this means that there are only a couple of months left to go before the end of the season.
Whilst the Hoops will have their focus set on winning the Scottish Premiership and securing the SFA Cup, to complete a domestic treble, they will also have one eye on the upcoming summer transfer window.
The Hoops may be concerned about the future of some of their star players amid reported interest from elsewhere ahead of the summer, with Nicolas Kuhn one of those reportedly in the crosshairs of other teams.
Last month, it was reported that Premier League side Newcastle United are interested in a deal to sign the German forward from Celtic, who are said to value him at around £20m.
Kuhn, who has – as shown above – showcased his quality in the Champions League this season, would be far from the first winger to be sold for big money by the Bhoys.
Where Kuhn would rank in Celtic's most valuable winger sales
The Scottish giants have a long history of cashing in on their star players, in every position over the years, as they have allowed the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, Moussa Dembele, Odsonne Edouard, and countless others, to move on from Parkhead to further their respective careers.
Kuhn, though, would be one of their most expensive sales out of all of the wingers they have cashed in on if he moves for £20m or more in the upcoming summer window, placing him just below Jota.
Jota
£24m
Aidan McGeady
£10m
Liel Abada
£6.7m
Mikey Johnston
£2.9m
Sead Haksabanovic
£1.6m
However, these fees do not account for the inflation of transfer fees in football over the years. As per Totally Money, a transfer fee of £10.8m in 2010 would be worth around £29.7m in today’s money.
This suggests that McGeady, who was sold to Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2010, is the most valuable sale on that list with a modern-day valuation of almost £30m.
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The now-retired Ireland international was a terrific, long-serving, winger for the Hoops and they raked in a significant sum of money, for the time of the sale, when they sold him to the Russian side for £10m.
Why Aidan McGeady was such a valuable player
The Scottish-born star came up through the academy system at Parkhead and burst onto the scene as a promising young player in the 2003/04 campaign, scoring one goal in four league matches.
McGeady went on to score 36 goals and provide 48 assists in 233 appearances for Celtic in all competitions, including seven goals and 14 assists in his last league season before his big-money move to Spartak Moscow.
The Ireland international put on a show for Hoops supporters when he went out onto the field at Parkhead, due to his incredible technical ability and creative genius.
Such was the level of his skill, McGeady even had a signature trick that was named after him, as shown in the clip below, which speaks to just how inventive he was with the ball at his feet.
Typically operating on the left flank, the flair forward was equally capable of delivering quality with either foot, dribbling past players, scoring goals, and providing assists, whilst often cutting in on his right foot from the left wing.
In the present day, Celtic have unearthed their latest version of McGeady and it is not Kuhn, despite his potential big-money move away from Parkhead. It is Portuguese forward Jota, who has already sealed a big transfer away from Parkhead in his career.
Why Jota is Celtic's new McGeady
Jota, as aforementioned, was sold to Al Ittihad for a record fee for a Hoops winger back in the summer of 2023, after his first spell as a player in Glasgow under Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou.
As you can see in the graphic above, the Portugal international delivered brilliant performances on the flank as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Scottish giants.
That earned him a move to Saudi Arabia for a huge fee at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, but he returned to Parkhead 18 months later when Brendan Rodgers snapped him up from Rennes in January.
The Northern Irish boss brought the 25-year-old forward back to Celtic and it has been a masterstroke so far, with the winger registering his latest goal contribution against Rangers last time out with a great assist for Daizen Maeda.
Jota has scored three goals, created three ‘big chances’, and registered two assists in seven appearances, including four starts, in the Premiership since his January switch.
This shows that he has hit the ground running at Parkhead as both a scorer and a creator of goals, as McGeady was at Celtic, in his second spell in Glasgow.
Starts
1
4
Goals
0
3
Big chances created
1
3
Assists
0
2
Dribbles completed
3
8
As you can see in the table above, Jota has completed 11 dribbles in just five starts across the Champions League and the Premiership for Celtic this season, which illustrates both his desire and ability to take defenders on and get supporters off their feet.
Like McGeady, the Portuguese speedster constantly looks to progress attacks by using his technical and dribbling skills to get his team up the pitch, whilst being a right-footed player on the left flank – as opposed to Kuhn being a left-footer on the right.
Pundit Michael Stewart claimed that Jota “raises the bar” for the Bhoys because he is a “game-changer” with his ability to take multiple players on at once.
Therefore, Rodgers – even though it is the player’s second spell at the club – has unearthed Celtic’s new version of McGeady by bringing Jota back to Parkhead, and he will be hoping that the Hoops continue to benefit from his attacking talent for many more years to come.
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Kuhn may well move on from the club this summer, amid Newcastle’s reported interest in him, but they would still have Jota and his terrific output in the final third to rely upon next season.
