Exclusive: Celtic make contact over Kasper Hogh deal
Celtic have made contact over a late-window deal for Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Hogh, sources have told Football Insider.
The Glasgow giants are battling Norwich City to land the 25-year-old before next Monday’s transfer cut-off.
Celtic are working on bringing in a new forward as they look to beat Hearts and Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title.
Hogh enhanced his growing reputation with a double in Bodo’s 3-1 home win over Manchester City last week. The frontman also scored 17 goals in 28 games last season in the Norwegian Eliteserien.
Martin O’Neill still not satisfied with his striker options
Celtic fans have grown frustrated with Johnny Kenny for his performances so far this season, with the youngster’s missed chances a lasting memory of Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous spell in charge.
A move for Hogh would see the former Shamrock Rovers man move even further down Martin O’Neill’s pecking order, after new signing Tomas Cvancara led the line from the start against Hearts.
Adding to the attack has been a major priority for the Bhoys in the mid-season window, especially given that the injury to Kelechi Iheanacho has left them short of options of late.
Hogh would help to bolster the depth even further at Parkhead, and carries an impressive goalscoring record behind him, having surpassed the 20-goal mark in all competitions in each of his last two campaigns.
The Bodo/Glimt star has Champions League experience, and has already experienced being part of a team that have upset the odds against the big boys, something Celtic are always keen to become themselves.
The Premiership title race looks set to go down to the wire, and O’Neill and Co. are keen to strengthen their hand with as much firepower as possible before the 2 February deadline.
Celtic to get Auston Trusty red card overturned
Ex-FIFA referee and former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett exclusively told Football Insider on Monday that Celtic have a strong chance of getting Auston Trusty’s red card overturned after the club confirmed that they would appeal against his recent sending off.
The centre-back was initially shown a yellow card for bringing down Hearts star Pierre Landry Kabore during Sunday’s 2-2 draw in the top of the table clash.
However, it was then upgraded to a red after consultation with VAR, leaving Celtic to play the final 13 minutes with 10 men, and ultimately concede a crucial late equaliser.
Nevertheless, Hackett feels that they have strong grounds for an appeal against Trusty’s suspension using the criteria of the law for the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
The probability of Kabore controlling the ball, the direction of the play and the speed of the recovering defenders are all likely to be taken into account, and the former official feels that O’Neill may be successful in getting the imminent ban rescinded.