There has been a willingness from the Celtic board to splash the cash this summer after the Hoops needed to win on the final day of last season to clinch the Scottish Premiership title.
Indeed, there have been a plethora of big-money additions at Parkhead with Mika Baur arriving for £6.8m, Haissem Hassan for £9m, and Kasper Hogh for more than £11m.
The biggest deal so far has been the move to bring Hogh to Parkhead from Bodo/Glimt for a fee that could reach in excess of £11m, which would make him their club-record signing.
That said, it’s been a rather topsy-turvy start for the summer addition under Martin O’Neill.
Why Celtic should be concerned about Kasper Hogh
The Denmark international has scored three goals in his first four appearances for the Scottish giants this season, but all three of those goals came in the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock in the Premiership.
His performances in the other three matches were underwhelming and caused some concern about how consistent and reliable he can be for the side moving forward.
Hogh arrived with no prior experience in a major league or in British football and his lack of mobility and physicality has already caused him issues.
|
Kasper Hogh |
Vs Dundee |
Vs LASK |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
90 |
90 |
|
Shots |
4 |
1 |
|
Goals |
0 |
0 |
|
Pass accuracy |
38% |
65% |
|
Key passes |
0 |
0 |
|
Duels won |
5/11 |
6/12 |
|
Possession lost |
13x |
15x |
In starts against Dundee and LASK, the 25-year-old marksman lost 12 duels and gave away possession 28 times without scoring a goal or providing a single key pass for his teammates.
The concern for Celtic, therefore, will be if the hat-trick against Kilmarnock will become a regular occurrence or if his performances against Dundee and LASK will be his baseline.
Celtic pursuing deal for a bigger coup than Kasper Hogh
Whilst it remains to be seen how Hogh will fare in the long-term, the Scottish giants are eyeing another big-money addition who would be an even bigger coup for the club than the Dane was.
According to Football Insider, Celtic are in an ongoing pursuit of Torino central midfielder Gvidas Gineitis ahead of September’s transfer deadline.
The report claims that the Hoops had an offer of £6.5m turned down by the Italian side earlier this summer for the Lithuania international, but they have not given up their chase of the 22-year-old talent.
It adds that the Serie A side have set a price of £8.5m for the midfield star, but their financial difficulties mean that the Premiership champions could strike a bargain deal for less than that fee before the window slams shut.
Securing a move to bring Gineitis to Parkhead for less than £8.5m before the deadline would be a bigger coup than paying a potential club-record fee for Hogh for several reasons.
The first reason being that they could take advantage of Torino’s financial woes to land a bargain fee, making it a potential coup from a financial perspective, whilst they had to pay a record-breaking fee to land the Danish striker.
|
25/26 Serie A |
Gvidas Gineitis |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
29 |
|
Starts |
23 |
|
Big chances created |
5 |
|
xA |
2.35 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
2.4 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
56% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
51% |
His experience and performances in the Serie A for Torino in the 2025/26 campaign also suggest that he would be a bigger coup than Hogh from a footballing perspective.
The Denmark international had never played league football in a major European league, only in Norway and Denmark, but Gineitis has played 76 times in the Serie A by the age of 22.
The Lithuanian star has already proven that he can deliver in a big European league and shown that he has the physicality and the mobility to shine in the middle of the park, winning the majority of his duels on the ground and in the air last season.
His form in the Serie A in the 2025/26 campaign suggests that he would not have any issues with the physicality or intensity of Scottish football, and could be a midfield machine for O’Neill if the club can agree a deal for his signature.
The 22-year-old talent would, therefore, be a bigger coup than Hogh if he arrives at Parkhead this summer because of the financials involved, his proven quality at the top level, and the fact that he is three years younger and has more room to improve and develop.
