Kasper Høgh Should Be Heading Back to Bodø/Glimt in January – Celtic Cannot Keep Playing Him

At what point do we admit that Kasper Høgh simply is not working at Celtic?

I wanted this signing to work. Spending around £11 million on a striker from Bodø/Glimt, someone who had impressed in European football and looked capable of giving us a genuine goalscoring threat, should have been something to get excited about.

But we are now approaching the point where patience is becoming difficult to justify.

Against Hibernian, Høgh managed just one touch in the first half. One touch. For a striker leading the line for Celtic, that is absolutely nowhere near good enough.

We can talk about confidence, adapting to Scottish football and giving players time to settle, but there has to come a point when performances matter more than the transfer fee. Høgh is not a young player being introduced gradually. He arrived as a record signing, and we should be seeing far more from him.

I am not expecting every striker to score in every game. What I do expect is movement, involvement, a willingness to compete with defenders and an ability to bring team-mates into the game. When your centre-forward is barely getting involved, it becomes a problem for the entire attack.

And that is exactly what we are seeing.

The £11 Million Price Tag Cannot Dictate Selection

One of the biggest mistakes Celtic can make is continuing to start Høgh simply because of how much we paid for him.

That money has already been spent. It does not magically make him the best option in the starting XI, nor does it mean he should be given endless opportunities while other players are performing better.

We have seen this story before at Celtic. A player arrives with a big price tag, struggles to deliver, and suddenly the manager appears determined to prove that the signing was worthwhile.

But football does not work like that. You pick the players who give you the best chance of winning.

If Høgh is not doing enough, drop him. If he cannot get involved against Hibernian, why should we automatically expect him to lead the line in the next match?

Martin O’Neill has backed the striker publicly, and I understand why a manager wants to protect a new signing’s confidence. However, backing a player does not have to mean continuing to start him regardless of form.

There is a difference between giving someone time and refusing to acknowledge what is happening in front of us.

Camilo Durán Has Earned His Opportunity

The biggest frustration is that we already have a solution staring us in the face.

Camilo Durán has been one of the most encouraging aspects of Celtic’s recent attacking play. He has brought energy, movement and a willingness to make things happen. His goal against Hibernian was another reminder of what he can offer.

So why should we keep forcing him out wide to accommodate Høgh?

Durán has shown that he can be effective centrally, and I want to see him given a proper run as our number nine. He looks far more capable of making things happen at the moment, and his performances deserve to be rewarded.

That does not mean Durán should never play on the wing. His versatility is useful, and he can still make an impact from wide areas. But when he is in form and our £11 million striker is struggling to get a touch, it makes absolutely no sense to prioritise the latter.

Put Durán through the middle and use the wide positions for players who can stretch the opposition, take defenders on and provide service into the box.

It is not complicated.

We should be building our attack around the players who are performing, not trying to build a system around one expensive signing.

January Should Be the Time for a Decision

For me, Celtic need to seriously consider sending Høgh back to Bodø/Glimt in January, whether that means exploring a loan arrangement or negotiating an exit that works for all parties.

There is a reason he impressed in Norway. Perhaps the system suited him better, perhaps he needs a different environment, or perhaps the transition to Celtic has proved more difficult than anyone expected. Whatever the explanation, what we are seeing right now is not enough.

That does not mean Høgh is suddenly a terrible footballer. His performances before arriving at Celtic did not happen by accident, and he has already shown that he can score goals at a high level.

But Celtic cannot afford to operate on the basis of what a player did for another club six months ago. We need players who can contribute here and now.

If there is a way to get him back to a familiar environment and help him rediscover his confidence, it should be explored. And if Celtic can recover a reasonable portion of the fee, that conversation becomes even more important.

Of course, the club must be realistic about the financial implications. We spent a significant amount on Høgh, and simply sending him away without considering the consequences would not automatically represent good business.

But keeping him in the starting XI purely because of that investment would be equally foolish.

Celtic Must Stop Making the Same Mistakes

What frustrates me most is that we should not be in this position again.

We need better recruitment, better decisions and a clearer understanding of how new signings are supposed to fit into the team. Spending £11 million on a striker should strengthen Celtic, not create a situation where the manager feels obliged to keep selecting him while an inform alternative is pushed out wide.

Høgh deserves the opportunity to turn things around, but that opportunity cannot come at the expense of the team.

Against Hibernian, the contrast was difficult to ignore. Durán was making things happen, while Høgh was struggling to involve himself in the game. At some point, the performances have to decide who starts.

For me, the answer is obvious.

Start Durán through the middle, pick the best available wide players around him and stop treating Høgh’s transfer fee as a reason to keep playing him.

If things have not improved by January, Celtic should look seriously at a return to Bodø/Glimt or another solution that works for everyone.

We cannot keep forcing something that clearly is not working.

Celtic need goals, movement and performances. Right now, Høgh is not giving us enough of any of them.