Celtic Linked With Norwegian Defender Heggheim — Could He Be Our January Answer?

Celtic need another centre-back. I don’t think there is much debate about that anymore.

The injuries to Cameron Carter-Vickers, the reliance on Liam Scales, Auston Trusty personal circumstances, and the increased responsibility placed on Dane Murray have exposed how quickly our defensive options can become stretched.

That is why the reported interest in Henrik Heggheim caught my attention.

The 25-year-old Norwegian currently plays for Viking FK and has been linked with Celtic ahead of the January transfer window, alongside Championship clubs Burnley, Sheffield United and Stoke City.

He is an interesting profile.

Standing at 6ft 2in, Heggheim offers the physical presence we could do with in central defence. He has experience in Norway and Denmark, having previously played for Brøndby, and has returned to Viking to establish himself as an important player.

What makes him particularly interesting is his contribution going forward. He has been productive in the Norwegian league this season, scoring goals and providing assists from defence.

That is something I would like to see more of from our centre-backs. We need defenders who can be comfortable on the ball, compete physically and offer a threat at set-pieces.

However, there is a difference between being linked with a player and Celtic actually making a move.

One report isn’t enough to suggest we will sign him. But a centre-back playing Champions League football is exactly what we should be targeting.

That doesn’t mean we should dismiss him.

I would much rather see Celtic exploring players like Heggheim than waiting until January before deciding what we need.

Carter-Vickers remains hugely important to this team, but we cannot keep depending on his fitness to determine how strong our defence looks. We need another reliable option who can compete for a starting place.

Heggheim is 25, has experience in two European leagues and could offer something different to our current defensive options.

There are questions to answer about whether his style would suit the demands of Scottish football and the space Celtic leave behind when playing a high defensive line.

But that is exactly what our recruitment team should be assessing.

January cannot become another window where we talk about strengthening the defence but fail to bring in the right player.

If Heggheim is genuinely available and fits what Martin O’Neill wants, I would like Celtic to take a closer look.

We need to get this position right.