Celtic are four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table heading into the November international break after their 1-0 win over Kilmarnock on Sunday.
Liam Scales scored the only goal of the game for the Hoops in the first half when he looped Camilo Duran’s inswinging cross up and into the back of the net.
That goal came just over ten minutes after Kasper Hogh had a goal disallowed by VAR after a foul by Mika Baur was spotted in the build-up to the Dane’s strike.
Due to that goal being chalked off, the Celtic striker is now on a run of 20 matches without a goal for club and country since his hat-trick against Kilmarnock.
Kasper Hogh’s biggest problem at Celtic
The Hoops committed a fee of £11m to sign the centre-forward from Bodo/Glimt because he scored 54 goals in 103 matches in all competitions for the Norwegian outfit.
However, what went under the radar was that their team was built to consistently create high-quality chances for Hogh to score, and that is not the case for him at Parkhead.
It is not a surprise that his hat-trick and only goals for Celtic came in the game against Kilmarnock when the Hoops registered their most ‘big chances’ (ten) and their highest xG total (5.44) of the campaign.
The 25-year-old striker needs the team to create chances for him because he lacks the mobility, speed, and technical quality to create chances for himself when the team is not playing well.
|
2026/27 Premiership |
Kasper Hogh |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
10 |
|
Shots on target per game |
0.8 |
|
Goals |
3 |
|
Assists |
3 |
|
Duel success rate |
45% |
|
Ground duel success rate |
32% |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
0.2 |
Hogh has lost 68% of his ground duels and only completed two dribbles in ten matches, which shows that his biggest problem at Celtic is his lack of athleticism and speed on the deck.
Celtic teen is coming to end Hogh’s Parkhead career
Martin O’Neill could quickly move on from the Danish number nine because the club are brewing a homegrown Kyogo Furuhashi within the academy set-up.
17-year-old centre-forward Lucas Clearie has already caught the manager’s eye this season and was named on the bench for the Europa League clash with Benfica last month, but he did not get any minutes on the night.
The 5 foot 9 striker is similar to ex-Hoops icon Kyogo Furuhashi in the sense that he is a diminutive attacker who looks to generate chances through sharp movements and running off the back of defenders, rather than being a focal point as a target man.
Kyogo scored 85 goals in 165 matches for Celtic, including 34 goals in the 2022/23 campaign, playing like that for Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers.
Clearie, who only turned 17 in March, has scored 23 goals in 40 appearances for Celtic B, but he is still waiting to make his debut for the first-team.
The teenage marksman’s exceptional form in the 2026/27 campaign so far should convince O’Neill to provide him with an opportunity, because he has already scored 20 goals in 16 matches in all competitions.
|
Clearie in 2026/27 Challenge Cup |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Opposition |
Minutes |
Goals |
|
Hamilton |
85 |
1 |
|
Dumbarton |
90 |
1 |
|
Stranraer |
90 |
3 |
|
East Kilbride |
0 |
0 |
|
Clachnacuddin |
0 |
0 |
|
Cowdenbeath |
0 |
0 |
|
Ross County |
18 |
0 |
Clearie has scored five goals and provided one assist in four appearances in the Challenge Cup so far this season, yet he was only given 18 minutes off the bench in the 2-0 defeat to Ross County in the second round earlier this month.
Shim Mheuka, who is only on loan from Chelsea, started the match ahead of him and failed to score before being substituted with 18 minutes left to play.
Celtic need to place a greater emphasis on developing their own young talents, rather than a player who will be back in London next year, because Clearie looks like a player with genuine first-team potential.
The Kyogo-esque star has the potential to break into the first-team and take Hogh’s spot because he has the attributes that would allow him to generate chances for himself, unlike the Dane, due to his movement and speed off the mark.
Whilst the £11m striker is struggling because of his lack of mobility in the centre-forward position, Clearie is a young striker who has the same traits that allowed Kyogo to be a huge success at Parkhead.
Therefore, the 17-year-old youngster could already put an end to the Denmark international’s career in Glasgow if O’Neill provides him with the chance to make the step up and take the experienced forward’s minutes moving forward.
