Celtic star flops, reminding fans of Ronny Deila era struggles.

Celtic finally delivered the kind of performance their supporters had been waiting for on Sunday, sweeping aside Hearts with an emphatic 7-1 victory at Parkhead.

After a difficult spell in recent weeks, Martin O’Neill’s side looked transformed as they attacked with intensity, played with confidence and punished Hearts throughout the afternoon.

It was a particularly striking result given how competitive the two clubs had been only a few months earlier. Celtic and Hearts had been battling for the Scottish Premiership title heading into the final day of the previous campaign, yet there was a huge difference between the teams this time around.

The Hoops were dominant from the opening whistle, and the scale of their improvement inevitably raises questions about the players who were missing.

One of the most obvious absentees was Sebastian Tounekti.

Tounekti’s Celtic struggles continue

Tounekti has been given a prolonged opportunity to establish himself on Celtic’s left wing this season.

With Yang Hyun-jun still unavailable and Jota only recently returning from his lengthy absence, the Tunisian has generally been O’Neill’s preferred option in that position.

However, his numbers have offered little evidence that he has taken advantage of that opportunity.

The 24-year-old has made 14 appearances in all competitions this campaign, scoring just once and registering one assist. Both contributions came during the League Cup victory over Dundee United in August.

His overall Celtic record is hardly more encouraging.

Since arriving from Hammarby last summer, Tounekti has played 59 matches for the Scottish champions, producing only six goals and four assists.

O’Neill has continued to show confidence in him, but his patience may now be running out.

Tounekti’s performance in Lisbon against Benfica appeared to represent another low point. He was withdrawn at half-time following another ineffective display, and he subsequently failed to make the matchday squad for Sunday’s meeting with Hearts.

O’Neill insisted that the omission was tactical rather than disciplinary, explaining that he currently has a fully fit squad to choose from.

Nevertheless, what happened against Hearts may have made Tounekti’s path back into the starting XI considerably more difficult.

Osmand makes his opportunity count

Following the improvement Celtic showed after the interval against Benfica, O’Neill made another bold decision against Hearts by handing Callum Osmand a starting role on the left.

The 20-year-old responded in emphatic fashion.

Osmand found the net twice before half-time, making a decisive contribution to Celtic’s demolition of Hearts and taking his personal tally for the club to four goals in just eight appearances.

His performance demonstrated exactly what can happen when a young player is given an opportunity and takes it with both hands.

There was also a noticeable difference in the way Celtic attacked with Osmand involved.

Former Celtic midfielder Scott Brown was particularly impressed and suggested that the youngster had achieved more in one half than Tounekti has managed during his entire spell at the club.

That assessment may sound harsh, but it underlines the growing frustration surrounding Tounekti.

The winger now faces competition from several directions. Yang remains in the picture once he returns, while Jota’s comeback provides another option capable of operating on the left.

Jota also offered a timely reminder of his quality against Hearts.

The Portuguese winger came off the bench in the second half and immediately brought energy, creativity and unpredictability to the Celtic attack.

At his best, Jota possesses a level of explosiveness that Tounekti has struggled to replicate.

Tounekti’s career statistics reinforce the concern. Across 197 senior appearances, he has scored only 23 goals and provided 15 assists.

For a player expected to make an attacking impact at Celtic, those numbers are underwhelming.

Hogh is now the bigger concern

Yet despite all the criticism aimed at Tounekti, Sunday’s match arguably highlighted an even bigger issue for O’Neill.

The most significant tactical development was the decision to use Camilo Duran through the middle.

The Colombian has already demonstrated that he can provide a serious goal threat, and his latest performance only strengthened that argument.

After scoring when moved centrally against Benfica, Duran produced another outstanding display against Hearts, scoring twice as Celtic cruised to victory.

His latest goals took his tally to nine in just 15 appearances for the club.

Duran offers pace, movement and aggression. He constantly threatens to run beyond defenders and makes life uncomfortable for opposing centre-backs.

Most importantly, he currently looks like a natural fit for the way Celtic want to attack.

The contrast with Kasper Hogh could hardly be clearer.

Hogh has not been an outright disaster, and there have been occasional positive moments. He did, after all, provide the assist for Benjamin Nygren’s late goal against Hearts.

However, those small positives are becoming increasingly difficult for supporters to cling to given the enormous expectations surrounding his arrival.

Celtic spent around £11 million to bring the Danish striker to Glasgow, making him a record signing for the club.

After the struggles of last season, Celtic needed a proven goalscorer who could immediately become the focal point of their attack.

Instead, Duran has emerged as the player providing the biggest attacking threat.

That is becoming a serious problem for Hogh.

Hogh evokes memories of Deila’s striker problems

There is something about Hogh’s current situation that will inevitably remind long-standing Celtic supporters of the striker recruitment problems experienced during Ronny Deila’s time in charge.

Between 2014 and 2016, Celtic brought in several forwards who failed to establish themselves as reliable goalscorers.

Stefan Scepovic, John Guidetti and Nadir Ciftci all arrived with expectations surrounding them, yet none managed to become the consistent attacking solution the club wanted.

Leigh Griffiths helped mask some of those shortcomings by scoring regularly, but Celtic still struggled to get enough production from several of the other strikers in the squad.

Scepovic is perhaps the most relevant comparison.

The Serbian arrived at Celtic following a prolific period in Spain, but his time in Glasgow never matched those expectations.

He scored only five times in 26 appearances across all competitions.

There is a danger that Hogh could eventually become another expensive striker whose reputation before arriving at Celtic never translates into consistent performances for the club.

The Dane was extremely prolific during his time with Bodo/Glimt, which helped convince Celtic to spend heavily on him.

However, his start to life in Scotland has been anything but straightforward.

His only goals so far have come during the emphatic 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock.

With three goals from his first 12 appearances, Hogh is now desperately searching for the consistency and confidence that made him such an attractive signing.

Celtic cannot afford to wait forever

At this stage, Hogh still has plenty of time to turn his Celtic career around.

But football at a club of Celtic’s size is unforgiving, particularly when a record transfer fee is attached to a player.

The pressure increases when another striker in the same squad is producing goals almost every time he is given an opportunity through the middle.

Sunday’s victory demonstrated just how dangerous Celtic can look when Duran leads the attack.

His movement stretches defensive lines, his aggression creates problems and his finishing provides the cutting edge that Celtic have sometimes lacked.

That makes Hogh’s situation increasingly concerning.

Likewise, Tounekti’s place in the team is now under serious threat following Osmand’s impressive display and Jota’s return.

The big question for O’Neill is whether he can revive Hogh’s confidence and discover the prolific striker Celtic believed they were buying.

If he cannot, then the club may soon have to consider whether Duran is simply the better option to lead the line.

Tounekti may have received much of the criticism in recent weeks, but Sunday’s 7-1 victory showed that he is not necessarily Celtic’s biggest problem.

The more pressing concern could be the record signing struggling to justify his price tag.

For Hogh, the challenge is now clear: rediscover the goalscoring form that made him so highly regarded at Bodo/Glimt before Celtic’s patience begins to run thin.