Celtic-linked Scott Hogan seems to be finally finding his groove after bagging a January move to Birmingham City on loan from Aston Villa.
Hogan was reportedly being considered by Celtic earlier last month (TEAMtalk). This was before the Hoops confirmed the signing of Patryk Klimala for £3.5m (Scottish Sun).
Not many of us would’ve wanted him at Parkhead at the time of course. Hogan had only scored two goals all season for relegation-battlers Stoke City in the Championship (Transfermarkt). It seemed like a poor move considering he was out-of-favour under Michael O’Neill.
But it looks as though he’s finally finding some form once again. He’s already doubled his tally for the season since his move to St Andrew’s – scoring two goals in two games.
The Republic of Ireland international, who has still never scored for his country, slotted in a debut goal against Notts Forest in a 2-1 win. One week later in Birmingham’s latest fixture, Hogan again popped up with a priceless first-half equaliser at Bristol, sending them on their way to a 3-1 success.
Fans have been impressed with Hogan’s impact
If the striker is to take a glance on social media, he’ll certainly find plenty of impressed admirers, both from the Birmingham and Aston Villa fan-bases:
https://twitter.com/_Rjjbcfc/status/1225876985106386944
In fairness, you can point to the goals Hogan has scored and say that the striker simply couldn’t miss. His first against Forest was a finish from a header back across goal. The second against Bristol was him seizing upon a goalkeeping howler to poke home.
But goals are goals, and it’s goals he wasn’t scoring at Stoke. It will, however, be interesting to see whether he can continue to score different types of goals in the coming weeks. Keeping this sort of form up will be key to proving this isn’t a false dawn. He still has to show he’s more than just a penalty-box predator.
This is, of course, real progress for Hogan. Look at what two goals in two games did for Leigh Griffiths’ confidence when he came back. The Irishman will be taking confidence from them and will be looking to kick on.
From a Celtic perspective, this could be worth keeping an eye on. Should we allow any of our forwards to depart in the summer, we’ll need reinforcements in. Hogan, if he does manage to continue rattling in goals, could be a viable contender. However, that’s a big if, and two goals certainly doesn’t make him a summer option.
Moving from Villa to Birmingham – Second City rivals – likely means a return to the Premier League side would be challenging of course. So if his form continues to sparkle, perhaps this is something we could look at again in the summer. One thing’s for sure – Hogan is back amongst the goals, and that’s something you couldn’t say in the first half of the season. It’s whether this is a flash in the pan that remains a mystery.
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