Getty ImagesMartin O’Neill says Kasper Hogh is the “calibre of player” Celtic are looking for after agreeing a club record fee to sign the Bodo/Glimt forward.
The Scottish Premiership champions have been locked in talks with the Norwegian side for weeks over the move.
STV Sport understands Celtic have agreed a club record fee of £11m plus add-ons for the striker in what is believed to be a long-term move.
Hogh, who has 54 goals in more than 100 appearances for Bodo/Glimt, is set for a medical this coming week.
The move comes after Daizen Maeda left Celtic Park following a four-year stint in a £10m move to Premier League side Ipswich Town.
Speaking after a 2-2 friendly draw with AC Milan on Saturday, O’Neill confirmed Hogh was due to have a medical “in the next 24 hours”.
“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,” he added.
“I’m hoping that players coming into the football club who are of some sort of substance, I think that would be the exciting thing for fans.
“For most of the time that I was here last season, we struggled to score goals. Maeda came up brilliantly for us in the last six or seven weeks of the season, but we didn’t have that recognised striker. So that would be a big plus for us if we can do that.”
Maeda helped fire Celtic to the double with nine goals in the last seven matches of the season.
“Naturally, I will miss him,” O’Neill said. “He was in his last year of his contract. Before I came here, the club made him a real big offer, in our terms, at least 16 months ago. And the lad refused to do it in the sense that he wanted to play in the Premier League if he could, or the Bundesliga.
“So I will obviously miss him, but I’m delighted for him at the same time, genuinely delighted for him.
“He deserves the move because he’s been fantastic for the club. We will miss his presence around about the place and Ipswich will be getting somebody that they will grow to really like.”
O’Neill’s only summer signing so far, Colombian striker Camilo Duran, scored and created a goal for James Forrest against Milan to take his tally to three goals in three pre-season matches.
The 74-year-old is confident other signings will arrive. Celtic are looking for a goalkeeper, a left-back and have been linked with Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur and Real Oviedo winger Haissem Hassan.
O’Neill said: “It’s quality that we’ll probably be looking for, and quality at affordable prices is at a real premium.
“We’ve got a few other things in the pipeline that might come to fruition, which would be great for us.
“I’ve got good faith in the people being able to get the players in.”
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