Hogh's link-up play 'more impressive' than hat-trick, says Sutton

Kasper Hogh's impressive first-half hat-trick against Kilmarnock drew comparisons to a litany of Celtic's most prestigious forwards. BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter, Tom English, said the Denmark striker, who was making just his second appearance for Martin O'Neill's side, represented "the most proven goalscorer Celtic have signed since Chris Sutton". Current manager O'Neill signed Sutton from Chelsea in what was then the club's record outlay, with Hogh their current biggest fee. However, the man who partnered Henrik Larsson for years in Glasgow isn't so sure about the comparison. "Tom does talk a lot of rubbish at times, and that's clearly evident there," Sutton said on the Monday Night Club. "It's an interesting one, if I chuck a few strikers who came after me out: John Hartson was a phenomenal finisher, Moussa Dembele was an excellent young player, Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Gary Hooper was a good goalscorer, Odsonne Edouard had a really good spell. "Look, the bottom line is Hogh has been in for two games, and after the first game against Dundee he missed a couple of chances and guess what, people were doubting him. "He got his hat-trick against a kamikaze Kilmarnock, I've got to say they did make it easy for Celtic. "I was pleased for him, he seems to be a really strong character, he's got a lot about him." Hogh, who arrived this summer alongside Qarabag foward Camilo Duran, are the club's only two incomings so far, but Sutton reckons filling the void up top was crucial. Daizen Maeda has left for Ipswich and the club have been without a recognised central striker since Adam Idah's move to Swansea a year ago. "I think people forget Celtic didn't have a proper decent centre forward last season and this is a guy who has the physicality, he led the line really well against Kilmarnock at the weekend, it wasn't just about his goals," Sutton added. "I like the look of him from what I saw at Bodo/Glimt, but it's early days at Celtic for him. It was good he got his goals, but what was more impressive really was the way he held things up, linked things, and looked like he knew what he was doing. "I'll repeat myself, Celtic won the league last season without a proper striker; they've now got one, possibly two, that's good news for Celtic."