Camilo Durán has been one of Celtic’s best performers this season, with Kasper Høgh finding himself on the bench while the Colombian keeps delivering.

Martin O’Neill has preferred Durán through the middle against Hearts and Celta Vigo, leaving Celtic’s £11m record signing waiting for his chance.

Camilo Durán says he can play alongside Kasper Høgh at Celtic

The £6.5m former Qarabag striker believes he and Høgh could work together in Celtic’s attack, despite competing for the same position.

Speaking earlier this month, Durán said: “We can definitely play together. I’ll play wherever the manager wants me to play, on the wing, as a striker, as a No10.

“I can definitely play up top with Kasper. He is a great player with some great traits.

“There are goals in him and, of course, it’s a possibility we can play together.”

The problem for Høgh is that Durán is making himself difficult to drop. The Colombian has nine goals and five assists in 16 appearances this season, including a goal and two assists in Celtic’s 7-1 hammering of Hearts.

O’Neill recently admitted Høgh was feeling down about his lack of goals, although the Celtic boss remains confident the Denmark international will rediscover his scoring touch.

Durán also spoke about how the pair support each other when one is left out of the team.

Speaking to CelticPlayer ahead of the Hibs game, he explained: “When he doesn’t play, he always encourages me. When I don’t play, I always encourage him.”

Martin O’Neill has barely given Durán and Høgh a chance together

O’Neill discussed the possibility of playing both strikers in July, suggesting Celtic could move away from their usual 4-3-3 formation to accommodate them.

The manager spoke about the 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 systems he used during his first spell at Celtic, insisting that changing formation should not be a problem.

In August, O’Neill again suggested Durán could play alongside Høgh, either as a centre-forward or just behind the Dane.

Against Hearts, Høgh replaced Durán on the hour mark. The Colombian had already scored and created two goals for Callum Osmand, while Høgh later provided the assist for Benjamin Nygren’s second.

Against Celta Vigo, Høgh came on in the 73rd minute with Celtic trailing 2-1. Durán was withdrawn seven minutes later.

Moving Durán wide to accommodate Høgh would be a big call, particularly when the Colombian has been Celtic’s most productive attacking player.

Høgh desperately needs a goal, and playing alongside someone in Durán’s form might help him rediscover the confidence that has been missing from his game.

But Celtic cannot afford to weaken their attack simply to get their record signing back into the starting XI.

Durán has earned his place through his performances, and dropping him or moving him away from the position where he has been so effective would be difficult to justify.

O’Neill should be looking at how Høgh can complement Durán, not how Durán can make way for Høgh.