The Nicolas Kuhn Celtic transfer fee that might prove too tempting as former boss swears by 20 year old mantra
Gordon Strachan knows Celtic will sanction a sale at some point but assures fans the club always find 'new heroes'
Gordon Strachan is certain Celtic won't sell Nicolas Kuhn this summer and when they do, it might take £30million.
The German winger has enjoyed a stellar first full season at Parkhead and has been attracting interest from Newcastle United. He's also been touted for a call up to the German national team, especially after starring in the Champions League against RB Leipzig and former club Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds as the Premiership champions ran the Bundesliga giants close.
Strachan knows Celtic's highly successful player trading model relies on selling, but at the right time for the right price. It's seen them land record fees for Jota and Matt O'Riley during the last two summers and Kuhn seems to be next on the hit list for the big guns.
But Strachan doesn't think Celtic have reached the point where they'd consider flogging their star man. But he's well aware of the "stepping stone" approach used to attract these players in the first place and the mantra won't be changing after 20 odd years.
"They won’t sell at any price," he told makthavare.se. "They’ll wait until it makes sense. At 30 million they might say 'alright, let’s sell'.
"They went big time on Arne Engels, so they have spent. They have probably spent the most they’re willing to so far with Rodgers, because if something goes wrong, they want to be secure.
"Somebody was saying that Celtic have got X amount of money more than Rangers, but it took 20 years to get that pot of money. It’s been hard work for the organisation all the way down. They have earned every right, Celtic.
"I’m not sure how much it would take, but there’s definitely a premium for attacking players. But this is probably how Celtic signed Kuhn.
"They’d say come for us, play for us, make us successful and have a look at all the players that we have sold on. Do you want to be one of them?
"Now, and if it happens, people shouldn’t tell him he should stay with us. They kind of promise them that they can be a stepping stone to where they next want to be in life.
"If you want to stay, magnificent, of course. And that’s been Celtic’s mantra now for 20 years."
As for Celtic being a selling club, Strachan isn't overly concerned given the club's ability to unearth the next star. He added: There was years ago when there was a bit about losing Edouard and others.
"As much as they’ve won, Celtic will always find heroes. But they have new stars to replace the outgoing players, and you’ve got Maeda and Kuhn.
"There’s so many coming in and that’s what happens at Celtic. There’s always new heroes."