Celtic Target Haissem Hassan as Transfer Needs Intensify
Celtic have finally nudged the market. Sky Sports report that the club have lodged an official enquiry for Real Oviedo winger Haissem Hassan, a move that underlines both the scale of Martin O’Neill’s rebuild and the boardroom hesitation threatening to undermine it.
Hassan, 24, has one year left on his contract in Spain and comes off the back of an eye-catching World Cup with Egypt, where his direct running and composure in tight spaces marked him out as a player ready for a bigger stage. Celtic see him as a potential starter, not a project, and have asked Oviedo about the conditions of a deal.
On paper, it looks like the first step in a much-needed refresh. In reality, it arrives against a backdrop of frustration and missed opportunities.
A squad stripped, a manager waiting
O’Neill has been clear: this summer needed decisive surgery. Instead, Celtic’s title-winning squad has already been weakened.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi, pivotal figures in last season’s dramatic title comeback, were allowed to walk away after the club failed to meet terms. These were not fringe pieces. They were players the manager specifically asked CEO Michael Nicholson and CFO Chris McKay to secure early, the kind of core figures a club usually locks down before anything else happens.
They did not stay. The offers were too low, the negotiations too cautious, and the chance to build continuity disappeared.
To make matters worse, the handling of Iheanacho’s exit has left a sour taste. Briefings emerged suggesting his wage demands were excessive. Those claims were quickly challenged by reports from Turkey, painting a very different picture of the striker’s expectations and casting doubt on the narrative coming out of Glasgow.
The end result is simple: O’Neill goes into the crucial phase of pre-season without three key attacking pieces. Iheanacho is gone. Saracchi is gone. And now Daizen Maeda may follow.
Maeda talks open as Champions League clock ticks
Ipswich Town have officially opened talks with Celtic over a possible deal for Maeda. The Japanese forward, a relentless runner and a favourite for his work-rate, has been one of the few constants in a squad too often reshaped on the fly.
If he goes, Celtic lose another proven performer before a ball is kicked in earnest.
That is where the Hassan enquiry starts to feel less like ambition and more like firefighting. The club’s stance of moving players out before bringing new ones in has become a familiar theme in recent windows. This time, the stakes are higher.
The UEFA Champions League play-off looms again, the fixture that so often defines the tone and finances of Celtic’s season. Yet, with that tie just around the corner, there has been barely any meaningful strengthening of the squad.
Warnings have already been sounded. Former captain Paul Lambert, among others, has stressed that Celtic will not keep getting away with slow, reactive windows. Last season’s late surge masked flaws. Strip away Iheanacho, Saracchi and potentially Maeda, and those flaws look exposed again.
Hassan enquiry: intent or illusion?
Scottish journalist Anthony Joseph summed up the situation in a concise update: Celtic have made an enquiry for Hassan, they are keen to bring the Egypt international to Glasgow after his World Cup displays, and they are exploring the conditions of a potential deal.
That is the hard fact. An enquiry. Interest. No agreement, no bid confirmed, no breakthrough.
For supporters, that distinction matters. They have seen this film before: promising names linked, talks reported, then silence as other clubs move quicker and the window drifts away.
Hassan would at least fit the profile O’Neill needs. A World Cup-tested winger, entering his prime, with only a year left on his deal and therefore likely available at a reasonable fee. A player who could replace some of the dynamism and unpredictability lost with the exits already confirmed and the ones still on the table.
But intent has to turn into action. And action has been in short supply.
A familiar crossroads
The mood around Celtic right now is not one of excitement at a bold new era. It is one of anxiety that the club will once again gamble on doing just enough, just in time.
Dragging feet in the market nearly cost them last season. This time, the margin for error is even slimmer. Europe will be less forgiving. The domestic challenge will be sharper. The dressing room, already altered, may yet lose more voices and personalities before it gains any.
Hassan could be a statement that Celtic are ready to refresh properly and back their manager. Or he could become another name on a long list of almost-signings that never quite made it to Paradise.
The enquiry is in. The need is obvious. The question now is whether Celtic finally move with the urgency their season demands.
