Khun to Brentford rumour opens door for Ajer returning to Celtic

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The Celtic Star

·7. Juni 2025

Khun to Brentford rumour opens door for Ajer returning to Celtic

Nicolas Kühn has apparently been targeted as a replacement for Brentford attacker Bryan Mbuemo, should the player leave West London for Manchester United, as we reported on The Celtic Star yesterday – Premier League side want Nicolas Kühn to replace departing £55m star.

Nicolas Kuhn of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

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The Bees are apparently holding out for a figure of £55m for the player but it seems there is an appetite from both the player and the buying club to get this deal done – and Brentford rarely stand in the way of players who are looking for a big move as they are sold on the player trading model when signing on with the club (as indeed happens at Celtic).

During the transfer window in January, Celtic sold Kyogo to Rennes and bought Jota back to Celtic from the same club. It seems there was a two way discussion during that deal which amounted to almost a like for like trade, although it seems Celtic may have paid a little less for Jota than Rennes paid for Kyogo.

Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford celebrates victory following the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Gtech Community Stadium on October 05, 2024 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

That may be a tactic worth revisiting for Celtic, as back in January there were plenty of rumours flying around the Celtic support that Kris Ajer and Brendan Rodgers had been in discussions about a return to the club. Now nothing came of that in January but now the season has ended, could that be something Celtic could revisit?

Kris Ajer is far from out the picture at Brentford but he has become something of a utility player and more a squad player than a regular starter.

Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford in action during the pre-season friendly between Brentford and VFL Wolfsburg at Gtech Community Stadium on August 09, 2024 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

In the EPL last season Kris Ajer played 1443 minutes and made a total of just 24 appearances, playing across five different positions. At the age of 27 now and with 42 caps for his country, it may well be the ideal time for Celtic to test the water, should the pieces fall into place and Mbueno heads to Old Trafford – and assuming reports are correct and our German winger fancies a crack at a top five league.

Nicolas Kuhn celebrates. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

I would be sorry to see Nicolas Kühn leave Celtic, given his goals and assists would be tough to replace but also because in the Champions League he very much stood out as shining in Europe’s top competition, but after that goal in Munich, that had us all dreaming of knocking Bayern Munich out in their own back yard, it’s probably fair to say the wide-man’s form dropped of – and significantly so.

There could of course be a multitude of reasons for that. He may be a streaky player, as we saw in his first season at Celtic compared to how he started the second. He could have been hankering after a January transfer window move and been told to hang on until the summer, or it could simply be he was confused at Celtic selling their top striker in the January window and not replacing him. After all, if you think that sort of thing annoys fans imagine the message it sends out to the dressing room and players with ambition.

Jack Iredale of Hibernian reacts with Nicolas Kühn of Celtic during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Hibernian FC at Celtic Park on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

If Kühn does move on I don’t think it will come as much of a surprise to anyone, but if Celtic could engineer a deal which included Kris Ajer heading in the opposite direction, perhaps that would help soften the blow?

Niall J