Nicolas Kuhn – Rapid Wien’s mercurial winger
Nicolas Kuhn had an accomplished youth career as one of the most highly regarded young prospects in German football as he was born in Lower Saxony, starting his professional career with his local village club, 1. FC Wunsorf as by the age of nine, he would join St Pauli’s youth team. He then moved to Hannover’s youth team, spending four years there before being poached by RB Leipzig. In January 2018, he would leave Germany to join Ajax, gaining professional experience with Jong Ajax as his performances with the Ajax youth team would earn him the feted Fritz Walter Medal in Gold which is the highest honour given to a German youth footballer. Kai Havertz, Julian Brandt, Timo Werner, Leon Goretzka and Mario Gotze have won the award in the past but Kuhn’s time at Ajax would not reach the zenith of first team performances as he was hampered by injuries. He joined Bayern Munich two years after leaving Germany for Holland as he was a fixture for the club in the Third Division of German football, spending last season on loan with Erzebirge Aue before joining Rapid Wien permanently.
Kuhn is now 22 as he is on the cusp of a breakout season in Austria as one of the leading attackers in the Austrian Bundesliga, quickly rising from the bench as he is now one of the first names on the team sheet. The prodigious prospect is now developing into a fully-formed well-rounded attacker, capable of occupying multiple positions on the pitch as he is normally deployed on the right flank. The left-footed German attacker loves to cut inside, gliding with the ball at his feet, changing direction to weave past gluts of players as he has the passing range to switch passes to the opposite flank, thread through balls or slide-rule passes into the channels while also being able to create his own shooting opportunities. He is a short and physically robust young player possessing high-level technical traits as he is able to move into the half-space, working connections with teammates to ease transition while he has the intelligence to make runs off the striker to receive possession in behind to have high quality goalscoring opportunities. He has shown the potential to play in a more central attacking midfield role as well as on the right flank.
Away to LASK, he came off the bench as he worked some intelligent interchanges, receiving possession on the right flank, cutting onto his left foot to drive the ball into the centre, spreading possession to the opposite flank. Fourteen days later, he would earn his first-start at home to Sturm Graz as he continued to drive the ball into the centre to switch possession to the opposite flank, participating in an exciting tussle with the Malian fullback, Dante. The 22-year-old would move into the half-space to receive possession, working a cute flick to a teammate as after a deflection from a corner, he had a measured first touch to drive the ball forward and thread a through ball for a cross. The German would open the scoring, making a well-timed vertical run into the centre from the right flank to receive possession as he had a 1v1 opportunity against the goalkeeper to calmly apply the finish with perfect placing. Kuhn regularly moves into central positions in the final third as his first touch is impeccable but when he plays on the right flank, his dribbling relies on him cutting back and driving past his man as this can make him one-dimensional in certain situations.
He attempted a through ball for Marco Grull which was intercepted before exchanging passes with a teammate to drive the ball forward, flicking the ball in between two defenders before skipping past a third as he found Guido Burgstaller in the nine-space with a through ball. The 22-year-old attempted another through ball for the striker which was intercepted before he received a switch pass, skipping past one defender before beating another defender with a lethal change of direction as he drove into a glut of players to poke a harmless shot at goal. Kuhn has a low centre of gravity, turn of pace, superb core strength as well as impeccable close control which allows him to be such a proficient dribbler, weaving in and out of situations with the ball glued to his feet. He can also combine with teammates to move into space while also generating space with his dribbling and ball-carrying as he has the potential to develop into an attacker who can operate on both flanks as well as in the central spaces. He received possession directly from a goal-kick to flick a pass to a teammate before receiving possession on the flank to lob a pass into the ten space.
In the pressing phase, he made an interception before latching onto a loose ball, skipping past a sliding defender to attempt a through ball to Grull which was too heavy. For the third time in the game, Kuhn had a sequence where he dribbled past three players in one sequence, cutting past a defender on the right flank, driving into the centre to skip past two defenders as he played another through ball for Ferdy Druijf in the channels. The 22-year-old finished the game with 2 shots and 1 goal, an astounding 8/9 takeons and 6 ball recoveries. Away to SCR Altach, Kuhn drove the ball forward to poke a pass for a teammate in the box as Yusuf Demir and him played intelligent combinations to ease transition and drive Rapid Wien forward. Kuhn can take a more active role in the build-up phase in moving into the half-space to receive possession to play one-touch passing interchanges with teammates as he was constantly closed down in 2v1 situations in the wide areas as he was constantly looking to cut inside from the flank.
Kuhn will need to be more precise when releasing the ball after his dribbling sequences as he has a tremendous vision for through balls, but his passes can be too heavy while there are also sequences where he dribbles into space but does not recognize runs being made. He had a situation where he cut inside but did not identify a striker making a run into space and played a sideways pass. His last action of the game was to cut inside, weaving past two defenders as he played a cut-back cross to a teammate who sent his shot over the bar. The 22-year-old would be substituted soon after. At home to Wolfsberg, he would move to the left flank, receiving possession to skip past a marker before threading a pass for his fullback in the half-space. The German received possession to drive the ball forward towards two defenders, cutting back to loft a pass into the box which landed perfectly at the feet of his striker. He had another opportunity to drive the ball forward on the counter to drive the ball in between two defenders as he was unable to get a shot away.
Kuhn was stretching the pitch, holding his position on the right flank as when he received possession, he would cut inside and play switch balls to the opposite flank for Marco Grull as he had another situation where he received possession to cut inside and loft a delivery into the box that Grull could not get on the end of. The 22-year-old then shifted to occupy the right half-space, driving the ball forward to play a through ball which was too heavy before skipping past a defender to cut-back into the central positions as he had a cross intercepted. He received possession in the half-space to play a one-two with a teammate before driving the ball into the central spaces where he threaded a deflected pass to Grull at the top of the box as the Austrian winger had his shot saved. Kuhn spun away from a challenge to drive the ball forward as he attempted to poke a cut-back for a teammate which was intercepted before making a run into the centre to receive possession as he trapped a pass for the ball to bobble off his knee which denied him the shooting opportunity.
The 22-year-old received possession in the right half-space to cut inside and loft a pass for Grull making a run into the box as he attempted to square a cross across the face of goal. Kuhn received a pass in the same area to attempt a through ball which was too heavy as the young winger is also capable of regaining possession in the counter-press. The German had a shot blocked before regaining possession to loft a delivery to the back-post for a tame header at goal. He moved to the left flank to work a one-two with a teammate as he made a run into the box to receive a lobbed pass to flick a pass to the nine-space. Kuhn received a pass in the half-space to lob a pass into the box for Burgstaller who made his run too early to head wide as he found the striker with another lobbed pass, this time from the deeper areas. As Rapid Wien were 3-0 down, Kuhn began to operate in the central spaces, dropping deeper to roll a pass in between the lines to a teammate.
Kuhn regained possession in the counter-press to drive the ball into the box before poking a pass to a teammate with the outside of his left boot as the teammate had a shot saved. The 22-year-old allowed the ball to roll across his body to create another opportunity before receiving possession on the left flank, driving into the box to hold off his marker to get to the by-line as he lobbed a cross into the box which was deflected out. Kuhn’s dribbling is effective because he can use his body to hold off his marker while using his close control to change direction while he can utilize a late touch poke possession past a player at the last moment. He also possesses innate awareness of time, space and body leverage in dribbling situations as he can drive the ball at two defenders, holding possession to stop his feet, poke the ball in between the defenders and employ a turn of pace to drive the ball away from the defenders. He created an opportunity when he played a cross into the box from a corner for a teammate to head wide. In a 3-1 loss, Kuhn finished the game with 5 chances created, 6 accurate crosses out of 11 and 5/8 takeons.
Away to Salzburg, Rapid Wien would switch to a 3-4-1-2 shape with Kuhn operating as an attacking midfielder as he started the game by working a connection and making a run for a pass in behind which was too heavy. He was tasked with making runs off Burgstaller to receive possession as he essentially operated in a free-role, receiving possession on the left flank, driving to the by-line before using his left foot to play a cross into the box which did not find anyone. He lobbed a pass into the box for Burgstaller which nearly resulted in a shooting opportunity as he began to move into the deeper areas as he utilized his passing range to thread a through ball in between the lines. His influence in the centre waned so he moved to the wide areas, threading a pass into the centre from the left flank before driving the ball forward to play an outside of the boot pass to a teammate. His decision-making was lacking in some instances, driving the ball forward as he did not release the ball to a teammate and lost possession. He had a shooting opportunity when he received a cross at the back-post to volley a shot wide, pulling at the shot when he should have got the opportunity on target.
Away to WSG Tirol, Kuhn was switching flanks, operating from the right and left flank as in a build-up situation, he would tuck into the right half-space to receive possession and roll a pass in between the lines to Burgstaller in the nine-space. The German would repeat the trick, this time from the left flank, receiving possession on the half-turn to cut into the centre and work another pass to Burgstaller in the ten space. Kuhn had a goalscoring opportunity when he made a run from the right flank to the central spaces to receive possession, skipping past the goalkeeper as he had a shot by a recovering defender on the line. It was a quiet game by his standards as he was operating in a variety of different positions as he was unable to weave into space with regularity. His decision-making and the weighting of his passing can also limit his ability to impact games at this stage of his career.
Kuhn has 0 assists this season but ranks in the top five in expected assists with a 2.12 number while has 1 goal for a 1.22 expected goals number. He ranks in the top 10 in crosses per game as he is also in the top 10 in total crosses with a 41% accuracy rate. He is in the top 15 in crosses from the right flank while being in the top 25 for crosses from the left flank as he is in the top 25 for crosses into the six-yard area. He is 2nd in dribbles while leading the league in dribbles per game with a 42% succession rate while he also ranks in the top 20 in touches in the opposition box. The 22-year-old also ranks in the top 20 for through balls with 50% of them being accurate while he is 2nd in key passes. Kuhn ranks 2nd in progressive runs as well as he is in the top 10 for overall ball-progression by runs.
The statistics and video prove that Kuhn is one of the more accomplished ball-carriers in Austrian football, being able to operate from either flank as a crosser or chance creator as well. He will need to weave into more shooting positions by receiving the ball in better areas, especially in the half-space while dribbling to create shots as he can drive into spaces to switch possession to the opposite flank or play slide-rule passes to runners in behind. In 1v1 situations, he can cut inside or drive to the by-line to play high quality cut-backs while his dribbling ability meshed with his penchant for intelligent combination play allows his to facilitate transition effectively. The 22-year-old enjoys tucking into the half-space to receive possession, swivelling to play switch balls to the opposite flank, roll passes to teammates in between the lines or work connections and make runs into the channels to get into better crossing situations. He constantly makes runs beyond the striker to get into goalscoring positions as he will need to do better with these opportunities.
He will need to improve with the weighting of his through balls as these tend to be too heavy while there are situations, especially when he is operating in a more central role, where he holds possession for too long, being tackled when he can release the ball. Defensively, Kuhn is strong at regaining possession in the counter-press and recycling possession by playing quick attacking interchanges. He is able to operate on the left flank, cutting past defenders and driving to the by-line to loft crosses into the box with his stronger left foot while he is constantly cutting inside from the left flank. With some drill work, he has the first touch in between the lines, ball-carrying, combination play and sense for movement to play in a central attacking position as he has shown a few times this season.
Kuhn has a long-term contract until 2026 but with the potential for bargains on the Austrian market, he could make a move in the summer if his form continues on the current trajectory. In the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt, Augsburg, Mainz, Wolfsburg and Schalke would be good moves for him. However, his game would suit Serie A as Udinese, Lazio, Sassuolo, Lecce, Sampdoria and Bologna would suit his particular style of play. A move to Hamburg if they’re promoted to the Bundesliga would also be an intelligent move for the youngster as he would thrive in Tim Walter’s system while in Ligue 1, Lens, Rennes, Montpellier, Toulouse, Nice, Reims and Brest would be teams that would suit Kuhn. The 22-year-old is beginning to add some substance to his early promise as he has been his team’s best attacker till this point of the season.
