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Ben is an experienced sports journalist and senior editor at Football FanCast, specialising in transfer reporting, Premier League coverage and football analysis. He graduated with a Master's degree in Sports Journalism in 2017.
Ben has written for publications including the Liverpool Echo and the Lincolnshire Echo. Throughout his career, he has covered a range of sports, from American football to mixed martial arts, but his primary passion has always been football journalism.
Since joining Football FanCast in 2018, initially as a freelance writer covering clubs across the English football pyramid, Ben has established himself as one of the publication's leading transfer reporters. His expertise lies in assessing the credibility of transfer stories, analysing what they mean for clubs and supporters, and providing context behind football's biggest talking points. Along the way, he has built an extensive network of trusted sources across the football industry that strengthens both his reporting and editorial insight.
Today, Ben leads Football FanCast's news team as Senior Editor, overseeing the publication's football coverage while helping shape its editorial standards, transfer reporting and analysis.
Martin O'Neill has been told to unleash all of his firepower at Celtic Park ahead of the Hoops' Europa League kick-off next week.
Celtic continued their flawless start to the domestic season over the weekend with a 2-1 win at St Mirren, but were demoted to the Europe's second tier competition following the devastating Champions League qualifying defeat to LASK.
Scottish struggles in Europe have been a league wide point of debeate following the humiliating loss in Austria, with rivals Rangers dumped out of continental competition entirely and Hearts needing penalties to limp into the Conference League.
The Bhoys brought in a whopping six players in the final days of the transfer window in an attempt to build a sqaud capable of competing on multiple fronts. Joel van den Berg's move from PSV and Jordan Lotomba's arrival from Feyenoord joined Oliver Sorensen, Shim Mheuka, Sam Johnstone and Landon Emenalo, and O'Neill was encouraged by what he saw from his new signings in Paisley following a frantic end to the summer transfer window.
"(Haissem) Hassan, one v ones, he can beat players all day long," the manager said, adding that Mheuka is not far away from starting games.
"He could be a proper player in time. He could be."
The real revamp came in attack, where Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran and Hassan were brought in for fees totalling more than £22m combined, while Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels went the other way.
|
Kasper Høgh |
Denmark |
Bodø/Glimt |
£11m |
|
Mika Baur |
Germany |
Paderborn |
£6.8m |
|
Haissem Hassan |
Egypt |
Real Oviedo |
£6m |
|
Camilo Durán |
Colombia |
Qarabağ |
£5.5m |
|
Joël van den Berg |
Netherlands |
PSV |
£3.4m |
|
Jordan Lotomba |
Switzerland |
Feyenoord |
Undisclosed |
|
Oliver Sørensen |
Denmark |
Parma |
Loan |
|
Shumaira Mheuka |
England |
Chelsea U21 |
Loan |
|
Sam Johnstone |
England |
Wolves |
Loan |
|
Landon Emenalo |
England |
Chelsea U21 |
Loan |
O'Neill backed to go all out attack in Europe
REUTERS/Russell CheyneFormer striker Iain Dowie insists Hogh and Duran could put the title out of reach for the rest of the Premiership - and give Celtic another level in Europe.
"I get Hearts having confidence of challenging the big boys, but I have a feeling that Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran are going to run away with it for Celtic," Dowie said. "Kasper Hogh got a hat-trick against Kilmarnock and Duran has scored six goals already.
"It's brilliant. Duran is scoring goals, and I think those two might run away with it. I like both of those players. Duran has really caught the eye lately, and Kasper Hogh clearly did well with that hat-trick."
The pundit pointed to Hogh's continental pedigree as a major asset for O'Neill heading into Europe.
"Having Kasper Hogh is massive for Celtic in Europe."
The Hoops host Hungarian side Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener at Parkhead next week before a trip to two-time European Cup winners Benfica, and it's fair to say Hogh's experience for Bodo/Glimt gives them a dimension they haven't been able to offer in recent years.
Boasting goals against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter, the Dane certainly isn't afraid of the spotlight, with 12 goals and four assists across 26 appearances in the Champions League and Europa League combined.
O'Neill's team selection was heavily criticised following the defeat to LASK, with Yang Hyun-jun and Benjamin Nygren among the worst offenders, and unleashing an all-out attacking approach with their new-look front three of Hogh, Duran and Hassan could be just what the doctor ordered when some of Europe's finest come knocking in Glasgow.


















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