Nicolas Kuhn would be forgiven to wait for the international break later this month as an opportunity for rest and welcome relaxation after the most intense period of his Celtic career so far.
The relentless nature of the champions calendar will see them playing their 20th match in the past 10 weeks when they face Hibernian at the Celtic Park in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup this afternoon.
However, while Kuhn will probably have this chance for a certain time, because most of his teammates will go to international service after the old game of next weekend, the German winger has not abandoned the hope of receiving a first call from his country.
Julian Nagelsmann recognized Kuhn’s references last November when he confirmed that the 25 -year -old was on his radar.
The next games of the Last UEFA Nations League against Italy in Milan and Dortmund are perhaps too early, but Kuhn thinks he did as much as he can catch the eye of the boss of the Nogelsmann national team.
With 18 goals and 13 assists so far for Celtic this season, and strikes against the German giants RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich in the Champions League along the way, he hopes that his first senior ceiling may not be too far away.
Nicolas Kuhn slides the ball at home during the draw of Celtic 1-1 in Bayern Munich last month
The German to train this week with his colleague Yang Hyun-Jun as Celtic is preparing for the Hibs
Kuhn fights with Richard Taylor of St Mirren in last week’s 5-2 victory in Paisley
“People know that playing for Germany is my ambition,” said Kuhn. “I always said that to come for me, I should get my aid and get my goals with Celtic.
“I think the season was good enough for me and for the team, so I will see what will happen.
“I have not yet had contact with the national team coach, but we will see. The more Celtic can be the most successful, but I also know that Germany has many players at its disposal, so there are a lot of competition.
No matter if he is doing the team this time, Kuhn is convinced that the German football public now knows that he is playing at a credible level in Scotland. This was most clearly underlined when Kuhn scored in the Allianz arena last month before Bayern’s Department time meant that Celtic came out of the Champions League.
“We have had a lot of very, very good games this season, especially in the Champions League,” he said. “The Leipzig game at home was great and also the game in Bayern, except for the last minute.
“It was special for me. Many of my family and friends were in the game and were really happy.
“I met them after the match, it was really nice. They were happy for me to score against Bayern, but I think everyone in Germany saw that Celtic had done a very good job against them.
“Frankfurt and Leverkusen have since lost against them, so I think we have done a very good job there.”
Celtic will seek to avenge a rare domestic defeat today, after losing 2-1 against Hibs resurface to Easter Road in the league a fortnight ago.
Kuhn celebrates his Champions League strike in Bavaria with Daizen Maeda
Not that the Brendan Rodgers team requires any additional incitement as they tend to a domestic hatch which is potentially at only six games. Three other championship victories would concise the title of Premiership, while the same number of victories is required in the Scottish Cup to keep the trophy.
“It’s a good number of games to achieve an interesting result, but to achieve this result, we first have to reach the next round of the cup,” added Kuhn. “This is what we are currently focusing on.
“It should be a very exciting game. We played Hibs a few weeks ago in Edinburgh and lost, so we know they are strong.
“We were not at our best that day. When we shot good performances against them at the start of the season, we won the two games. I hope we can offer another good performance. It’s always nice to have a quick opportunity to play a team that has been beating you the last time.
“It’s the cup, so there will be a different feeling in this match. In the cuts, the goal for everyone is to reach the next round. Lose and you are absent – it’s the same for all the teams.
“Obviously, supporters know it, so you get a good atmosphere at links. I’m sure this will be the case in it.