Nicolas Kuhn has always had potential. A Fritz Walter Medal - awarded to the top German youth talent - and Youth Champions League experience at RB Leipzig and Ajax attests to that.
Kuhn joined a star-studded list of winners for the Fritz Walter gong five years ago as he was earmarked for greatness in the game with Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz among recent winners.
The 25-year-old's previous clubs list also highlights the talent identified from an early age with Ajax, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig seeing something in the winger.
This season, Kuhn appears to be back to his best and delivering on the exciting and impactful playstyle with which he was credited when he signed for Celtic last season.
"That award is a really big thing in Germany. I was very proud and honoured to be chosen for the medal in 2019," said Kuhn of the Fritz Walter Medal. "I never saw it as added pressure on me. I just viewed it as recognition for what I had done in the youths.
"It was a big thing back then but now I want to show why I won that award. I still have ambitions to play for Germany alongside those other guys.
"When I joined Celtic, I wanted to play in the Champions League. After that, my ambition is the national team. I played in all the Germany age groups, from under-15 up to under-20.
"I was always one of the leaders in the teams. I was captain at times, and of course I want to show on the big stage one day.
"Every career takes a different path but right now, I am on a good road and I want that to continue.
"I remember Michael Reiziger speaking to us about our careers at Ajax. He was a great guy. He gathered us all together one day and said, 'You will all be professionals, it just depends on you where you are going to land'.
"I'm at Celtic now and I am really enjoying it.'"
Celtic will discover their Champions League league phase opposition later this month and Kuhn is raring to go in the competition having not previously been involved at first-team level.
He said: "I can't wait for the Champions League. It was one of the reasons why I came to Celtic.
"I am really looking forward to the draw to see who we get in the tournament. I always loved playing in the Youth Champions League.
"It was good to challenge yourself against teams from different countries and I had some nice experiences. We travelled to different cities and played against top sides.
"I enjoyed that tournament, I did well in it and now I can't wait to experience the real Champions League.
"Playing Man City and Chelsea in America also gave us a taste of what we can expect against opposition like that."
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In his nine Youth Champions League outings, Kuhn netted seven times and assisted three across matches for Ajax and RB Leipzig.
Among the finishes was a solo effort for the Bundesliga club against Porto back in 2017. And Kuhn is plotting a similar strike this season for Celtic - made even sweeter if it could be against one of his former clubs.
"Yeah, I remember that goal," he smiled. "It was a good one. I would like one of them in the Champions League this year. Or two!
"There are a lot of great teams we could draw. I wish we could play them all. It would be nice to maybe play against Leipzig or Bayern Munich, two of my former clubs. However, I can't pick out one team that I want more than any other."
Beyond Kuhn's own experience of playing in youth European competition, the German winger was on the books of Ajax when they made it to the semi-final in 2019 and played alongside the first-team during that season.
It only added to his motivation to make his mark in the tournament one day himself.
"It was an unbelievable year for Ajax," he said. "That was a great team who came so close to getting to the final.
"It was a good experience as a young player to see all the senior players and how they worked.
"Erik Ten Hag was the manager, Marc Overmars was there and Michael Reiziger was my coach in the second team.
"It was good to get tips and learn. Ajax always stands for a strong youth academy and that was the right place for me back then. "
Ahead of facing Hibernian in the Premier Sports Cup, Kuhn added: "We are all feeling good and are ready for the game. I am personally feeling confident and we want another good performance.
"We have to bring the same energy on the pitch as we did last weekend against Hibs. But this is a different game, it's a cup tie, a one-off game and we have to get through.
"I wasn't here last season when we were knocked out of this tournament.
"But there is a lot of motivation in the squad to do well in every competition this season, including this one."
