CELTIC’S record signing Kasper Hogh will be desperate to get among the goals if he gets the nod to play for Denmark against Portugal on Thursday evening.
The £11million-plus summer signing from Bodo/Glimt fired blanks for club and country all the way through September and will be hoping to get back on track as swiftly as possible in October.
In fact, Hogh has failed to claim a solitary strike since netting a first-half hat-trick in his second Hoops outing, the 5-1 romp over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 9.
Those were his only goals for the entire month.
Hogh’s drop off in the scoring stakes is as mystifying as it has been unexpected and abrupt.
HAPPY DAZE…Kasper Hogh accepts the applause of the fans following his hat-trick display in Celtic’s 5-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 9.
Following the rout of Neil McCann’s side, the 25-year-old attack-leader went three games – Dundee United and LASK (twice) – without hitting the net before injury forced him onto the sidelines for three successive league wins – Falkirk (2-1), Aberdeen (3-0) and St Mirren (2-1) – before he returned against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
It was left to German midfielder Mika Baur to grab the only goal of the encounter while Hogh was replaced late in the game with on-loan Chelsea teenager Shim Mheuka.
The Dane was in at the kick-off for the Premier Sports League Cup collapse at Ibrox, but was taken off just after the hour mark to make way for evergreen James Forrest.
He was left out of the starting line-up for the following midweek Europa League clash against Ferencavros, but came on at the interval for Benjamin Nygren as Martin O’Neill’s side lost 3-1 to the Hungarians at Parkhead.
Hogh was again named in the stand-by squad for the Premiership meeting with Derek McInnes’ side at the same venue four days later and, once again, had to wait until the 46th minute before making an appearance as a replacement for Luke McCowan.
For the fourth consecutive outing, Hogh failed to register a goal.
OFF TARGET…Kasper Hogh gets his timing wrong as he misses a right-wing cross during the champions’ derby loss at Parkhead.
To be fair to the expensive recruit, he has played a mere 15 minutes in Demark’s previous two Nations League games this month, the 3-2 loss to Norway in Oslo and the 2-0 win over Wales in Copenhagen.
Hogh replaced former Manchester United frontman Rasmus Hojlund, now at Napoli, on both occasions.
Now the Dane has given veteran team chief O’Neill a headache. Does the club’s highest-ever purchase start against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday October 11 when the Premiership gets underway again.
Or will be again be on the substitutes’ bench with Camilo Duran tasked with leading the attack?
It’s a puzzle for the Irishman, but one thing is certain – Hogh is not following the script in the early weeks and months of his Celtic career.
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