Nicolas Kuhn confession with Celtic transfer near as Rapid Vienna boss takes executive action amid vital talks

Rapid Vienna aren't taking any risks with Nicolas Kuhn to ensure his imminent move to Celtic is rubber-stamped.

The German wide man is set to become Brendan Rodgers' first signing of the January window and the two clubs continue to negotiate a fee ahead of a switch to Glasgow. Rodgers is keen to add more quality in the wide areas despite already having an abundance of wingers, and reckons the versatile former Ajax and Bayern Munich man is of the standard required.

A deal is expected to happen, but the Austrian club aren't quite ready to sign off on Kuhn's departure as the financial specifics are still being worked out. The Premiership champions have reportedly upped their bid to £2.8million but Rapid are holding out for £3m. Kuhn didn't take part in full training with the rest of the Rapid squad on Friday. They take on Weiner SC in a friendly this afternoon. But Kuhn won't feature, as confirmed by head coach Robert Klauss.

He told Kurier: “If there was a league game, both Kongolo and Kühn could play. But we don’t want to risk anything."

They also report that the player is being as careful as possible. He's all for joining Celtic and won't jeopardise his big move by risking injury in a warm up game. Kuhn's arrival could be the catalyst for Marco Tilio to head out on loan. The young Aussie has made just one appearance for the Hoops since signing in the summer due to injury. He's currently on Asian Cup duty with Australia and has been linked with a return to the A League, with several clubs interested.

“Of course from the outside it’s been tough," he said. "I obviously went to the club with an injury. But I’ve been back for four months now fully training, fully fit."