Celtic eye Aston Villa striker as they look to beef up attacking options

Celtic are weighing up a bid for out-of-favour Aston Villa striker Scott Hogan, according to reports.
Scott Hogan in action for Stoke against Cardiff's Lee PeltierScott Hogan in action for Stoke against Cardiff's Lee Peltier
Scott Hogan in action for Stoke against Cardiff's Lee Peltier

The Republic of Ireland international is currently on loan at Stoke City but doesn't appear to feature in Michael O'Neill's plans. The Potters boss is likely to give the player the green light to leave the Bet365 Stadium to seal a loan deal elsewhere, TeamTalk claims.

Hogan began his career with Rochdale before moving down the leagues with Woodley Sports, Halifax Town and Mossley. Spells followed at Stockbridge Park Steels, Ashton United and Hyde before he was re-signed by Rochdale in 2013.

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His form for The Dale - 19 goals in 40 games - earned him a move to Brentford, where he hit 21 in 36 games.

However, despite a move to Aston Villa in 2016, he has scored just ten in 61 games for the Midlands club. Seemingly out of favour, he spent part of last season on loan at Sheffield Untied, scoring twice in eight games, and has scored three in 15 for Stoke this term.

Celtic currently have three forwards on their books in Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Issouf Bayo. The talismanic Edouard has scored 13 in 17 games for the Hoops but Bayo has barely featured and Griffiths is still being gradually brought back after a lengthy spell on the sidelines for personal reasons.

The Parkhead side have been linked with a host of strikers including Andraz Sporar - also a target for Bristol City - and Jagiellonia Bialystok forward Patryk Klimala, who is on Copenhagen's radar as well.

Tyrese Campbell, a team-mate of Hogan's at Stoke, has also been linked while vaunted moves for Brighton's Glenn Murray and Billy Sharp of Sheffield United look unlikely to come to fruition.