Celtic’s £11m Striker Has Gone 16 Games Without Scoring—At What Point Do We Start Asking Serious Questions?

There is no getting away from it. Kasper Høgh’s Celtic career has become a real concern.

When Celtic spent around £11 million bringing the Danish striker to Glasgow, the expectation was that we were signing a proven goalscorer who could lead the line and make a difference in big matches.

His hat-trick in the early stages of his Celtic career certainly gave us plenty of excitement. But since then, the goals have dried up, and Høgh has now gone 16 consecutive appearances without finding the net.

For a club-record signing, that is a worrying statistic.

His performance against Kilmarnock summed up the current situation. He thought he had finally ended his drought when he found the net, only for VAR to rule the goal out following the incident involving Mika Baur in the build-up.

He then had further opportunities but couldn’t take them before being substituted to applause from sections of the Celtic support.

I actually think that reaction tells us something. Supporters are not necessarily turning against Høgh. We want him to succeed because we desperately need a reliable striker.

But wanting someone to succeed and pretending everything is fine are two different things.

There is also a wider issue with how Celtic are using him.

Reports have highlighted that Høgh is not receiving the same sort of service he enjoyed at Bodø/Glimt. He looks isolated at times, spends too much of his game away from the penalty box and is not getting enough opportunities in the areas where a striker is supposed to do his damage.

That is something Martin O’Neill has to address.

We cannot spend that sort of money on a centre-forward and then fail to build an attacking system that gets the best out of him. If Høgh is constantly dropping deep or chasing possession, we are not making the most of his strengths.

However, the player has to take responsibility as well. Strikers are judged on goals, and the opportunities he has had recently have not been taken.

The contrast with Camilo Durán is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Durán has been delivering goals and making an impact, yet we have regularly seen him moved out wide to accommodate Høgh through the middle.

I would like to see O’Neill give Durán a proper run as the central striker. It doesn’t mean giving up on Høgh, but Celtic need to pick the team that gives us the best chance of winning games.

The international break gives the manager time to look at the problem properly.

Does Høgh need a different role? Does he need a strike partner? Do we need to get more crosses into the box? Or is it simply a confidence issue that one goal could resolve?

Whatever the answer, we cannot continue like this.

I still want Høgh to come good. Nobody should be writing off a player after a difficult spell, particularly when the team around him has been inconsistent.

But £11 million brings expectations, and those expectations are not going away.

We need goals, we need a striker who can lead the line, and we need to see why Celtic invested so heavily in him.

Hopefully the next time Høgh pulls on the hoops, we are celebrating a goal rather than discussing another missed opportunity.