Celtic Smash Transfer Record to Sign Kasper Hogh
Celtic have rolled the dice in a big way. According to the Daily Record, the Scottish champions have agreed a club‑record deal to sign Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Hogh, a move that underlines both their anxiety and their ambition after a deeply unsatisfying title win.
They got over the line in 2025/26, lifting a fifth consecutive Premiership crown, but the mood around Celtic Park never matched the achievement. Performances stuttered, the squad looked tired, and the sense of drift was strong enough that Martin O'Neill has been handed a permanent contract with a clear brief: rebuild, and do it quickly.
This is his flagship move.
Record Fee for Top Target
Hogh has been at the top of Celtic’s attacking shortlist for months. They tried to get him in January and couldn’t close the deal. Now they have gone back, pushed harder and finally got their man.
The agreement is worth £11m plus add-ons, a package that will eclipse the £11m paid for Arne Engels two summers ago and install the Dane as the most expensive signing in the club’s history. For a board often accused of caution, it is a bold, unmistakable statement.
Hogh, 25, is expected in Glasgow in the coming days to undergo a medical. If there are no late complications, he will sign a long-term contract and walk into Celtic Park as the new focal point of O’Neill’s attack.
He arrives with a growing European reputation. The 6ft 1 forward chose to stay at Bodo/Glimt in January as the Norwegian side surged through the Champions League knockout stages, and he made that decision count. Six goals in the tournament, with strikes against Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Manchester City, turned heads across the continent and reinforced Celtic’s conviction that he was worth stretching for.
Maeda Out, Hogh In
The timing of the deal is no coincidence. Celtic agreed the Hogh fee on the same day they confirmed Daizen Maeda’s departure to Ipswich Town in a £10m move, a sale that clearly helped unlock the funds for their second signing of the summer.
Maeda’s exit strips the squad of relentless running and versatility in the final third, but Celtic believe they have upgraded their cutting edge. Hogh brings penalty-box presence, European pedigree and the kind of profile that can change the rhythm of tight domestic games and give them a sharper edge on the continental stage.
He will not be alone. The club have already moved for Camilo Duran, adding another attacking option as O’Neill reshapes a forward line that misfired too often last season.
Answering Rangers’ Challenge
The pressure to act was real. Across the city, Rangers have been busy, aggressive and unapologetic in the market. The arrivals of Hearts trio Derek McInnes, Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland have sent a clear message: the gap is there to be closed, and they intend to close it.
Celtic could not afford to watch that unfold in silence. Their title may be safe in the record books, but nobody at Lennoxtown has been allowed to feel comfortable about how it was won. The football was flat, the margins were fine, and the sense of inevitability that once surrounded their domestic dominance has started to fray.
Hogh’s signing is designed to change that narrative. With him and Duran in the building, Celtic suddenly look far more dangerous going into the new campaign. There is power, height, goals and, crucially, the kind of investment that signals a club willing to back its manager at a pivotal moment.
The champions have made their move. Now the question is simple: will a record-breaking striker be enough to keep them on top of Scotland when the fight really starts?
