Celtic break silence on Kasper Hogh deal as 'not anxious' Martin O'Neill offers update on transfers

Celtic are set to eclipse their record transfer fee of £11 million for the 25-year-old, who helped fire Bodo/Glimt to the last 16 of the Champions League last season.

His arrival will go some way to mitigate the loss of last season’s star player Daizen Maeda, whose sale to Ipswich Town for a deal that could reach £10m was confirmed on Saturday.

O’Neill admitted that Celtic have been in need of No 9 for some time and when asked about Hogh, he said: “I'm hoping that that will happen. I think there's a good chance of it. But until someone's actually signed and sealed, there might be things still up in the air ... but it's certainly progressing.

“Without going too deeply into it, that's the calibre of player that we'd be looking for, who has scored goals in the Champions League. I'm hoping that players coming into the football club who are of some sort of substance, I think that would be the exciting thing for fans. I'm hoping that's the case.

“Last season, I don't know where we found our way, but we did. For most of the time that I was here, we struggled to score goals. We did get goals, but when you don't have a recognised striker in the team ... I mean, Maeda had come up brilliantly for us in the last six or seven weeks of the season, but we didn't have that. So that would be a big plus for us if we can do that.”

When pressed on whether a medical has been booked, O’Neill replied: "Yes, apparently so. He will have one in the next 24 hours, I think.”

Celtic have already bought one forward already this summer in Camilo Duran, who cost nearly £6m from Azeri side Qarabag. The Colombian striker scored his third goal in three pre-season games as Celtic drew 2-2 with AC Milan at Parkhead on Saturday.

"I think he's a really good player,” said O’Neill. “I think that if he stays clear of injury, he'll be a big asset to us. He wants to do well, really good attitude, he can close people down. I'm not saying he's reached Maeda standard yet, but he's doing fine. And he can get hold of the ball.”

O’Neill not anxious on transfers

O’Neill admitted that Celtic still need more players in but denied being anxious about the situation amid consternation from sections of the fanbase over the time it is taking to bring in new players.

"I don't know numerically speaking,” he said on incomings, “I think it's quality that we'll probably be looking for. And quality at the affordable prices is a real premium. But no, we are searching. We still think that we need some extra players in. But if Hogh arrives, I think that's great for us to begin with. And I'm hoping that we might get one or two more, if that's the case. But there's a good fight on now for places in the team. And we'll just take it from there.

“I'm genuinely not [anxious]. I can remember the situation 25 years ago, so it's not new to me in that sense. No, I'm not worried. I've got good faith in the people being able to get the players in.”

One player that Celtic are keen on is Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur, with the club said to have fallen short of the German club’s valuation. “I genuinely cannot tell you at this minute,” O’Neill said on whether Celtic would go back in for the 22-year-old. “I've been preparing for this game. I'll see where we are tomorrow. We've got a few other things in the pipeline that might come to fruition, which would be great for us.”

O’Neill was satisfied with how his team fared against Serie A opposition. Duran opened the scoring and James Forrest doubled the lead before the break, only for Francisco Camarda to bag a double for AC Milan to earn a draw.

"In terms of a pre-season game, I really enjoyed it,” added O’Neill. “I thought we did some really good things in the game. Just a little spell after half-time where we lost a bit of concentration. But overall, yes, it was a great workout for us. You know, it was a pre-season game at the end.”