Martin O’Neill has confirmed that he is expecting Celtic to complete the signing of Kasper Hogh.
News broke on Saturday that Celtic had agreed a club-record deal to sign Hogh from Bodo/Glimt, reportedly worth more than £11 million.
O’Neill’s full focus was on his side’s friendly against AC Milan, which ended in a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park.
Speaking after the game, he was understandably peppered with questions on the imminent arrival of a player as high-profile as Hogh.
🚨 LIFT OFF FOR KASPER!!!
Celtic look to have a new club-record signing…
Martin O’Neill on Kasper Hogh: ‘It’s progressing’
Speaking after the friendly, the Hoops boss confirmed: “Yes, 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
READ MORE: Camilo Duran steals the show again: Three things we learned in Celtic’s AC Milan draw
“Yes, apparently so, (He’s having a medical). He will have one in the next 24 hours, I think.”
On how many more additions he is expecting, O’Neill continued: “I don’t know, numerically speaking.
“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.”
On Hogh’s pedigree, he continued: “I think, 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.”
Finally, on whether he could feature in a strike partnership with Camilo Duran, O’Neill said: “That’s a good point.
🔚 And that’s a wrap for Celtic’s pre-season!
What did we make of an entertaining draw with AC Milan?
“I think that there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to do that. No reason. But I really do like Duran; I think he’s a fine player. He wants to do well.
“Really good attitude, can close people down. I’m not saying he’s reached Maeda’s standard yet, but he’s doing fine.
“And he can get hold of the ball. So yeah, we need a few players in, in that position, which I think I’ve said to you.
“We’ve lost Maeda and there’s Callum Osmand. Iheanacho’s gone. So yeah, it would be nice to have them in.”
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