While unrest directed from the Celtic support towards the hierarchy has been verging on toxic, if it has not already reached that point, Martin O’Neill’s side have yet to kick a ball in 2026-27 competitive action.
Nevertheless, the club have been working on a record deal for an incoming player.
The exit of Maeda, last season’s title hero, following confirmation that Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi would not be returning to Parkhead, cranked up the fury among the fanbase.
But does Hogh’s arrival suggest the club are adopting a quality-over-quantity approach?
Celtic’s wage bill and financial outlay on transfer fees in recent years point towards money being spent, but perhaps not being spent wisely.
It has felt impossible for fans and pundits to defend the fact the club had only one new face through the door less than a week before their Premiership title defence begins.
However, the signings of both Duran and Hogh come with a reported combined cost of about £15m, and the pair arrive with Champions League pedigree.
Duran has impressed in pre-season after scoring five of his 15 goals for Qarabag last term in Uefa’s premier club competition. Hogh netted the same number in the same tournament as Bodo/Glimt defied the odds to reach the last 16.
Overall for Bodo/Glimt, the Denmark striker – who has scored once in four caps for his country – has averaged a goal every other game.
His underlying data and touchmaps suggest he is a penalty-box striker who has thrived in a fantastically well-coached system under Kjetil Knutsen.
O’Neill and his staff will back themselves to provide a platform for that success to be replicated in Scotland by their new big-money signing, whose CV shows he is capable of delivering at the highest level.
