In the first half of the season, Nicolas Kuhn was Celtic's best player and by some distance, as he took the role of the club's talisman following Matt O'Riley's exit. On current form, he seems to be one of the Hoops' worst performers. The German winger is struggling and has had to be taken off at half-time on more than one occasion recently.
The latest of those half-time substitutions came in the 1-0 defeat against St Johnstone. And now, many fans are starting to call for him to be dropped from the starting XI altogether. That is quite a downfall for someone who was scoring against teams like Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig a few months back.
The rapid decline in Kuhn's performances has raised a lot of questions. Rarely have we seen a player look like world-class in the first half of the campaign and then someone who does not even deserve to be starting games in the second.
What is the reason behind Kuhn's sudden decline in form? Well, we can only speculate. But there have been some suggestions that he had asked to leave in the winter and was linked with the likes of Newcastle United around that period of time.
Celtic: Potential reason Nicolas Kuhn is suddenly struggling
Eddie Murray wrote in The Celtic Star regarding Kuhn's situation last month:
"Nicolas Kuhn was believed to have requested a train ticket out of Parkhead round around the same time Santa was delivering his gifts. Santa said ‘No, you’ll have to wait’. It now transpires that the faltering winger will be offered his gift, if a little late."
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Kuhn. It looks like he might be on his way out of the club in the summer. That might very well be the reason behind his sudden decline.
It is safe to say that Kuhn's recent displays won't help his chances of getting a big move in the summer. Clubs, who might have been interested in signing him based on his performances earlier in the campaign, might now be giving it a second thought.