Celtic Eye Haissem Hassan as Transfer Tensions Rise

Celtic have finally moved. Sky Sports report that the club have lodged an official enquiry for Real Oviedo winger Haissem Hassan, a World Cup standout for Egypt and a player long linked with a switch to Glasgow.

At 24, with a year left on his Oviedo contract, Hassan fits the familiar Celtic profile: emerging talent, rising value, potential resale. After his eye-catching performances at the 2026 World Cup, interest was inevitable. Celtic’s interest was predictable. The timing, though, tells its own story.

Anthony Joseph, the Scottish journalist who broke the latest development, put it plainly: Celtic are “keen to bring the Egypt international to Glasgow” and are now “exploring the conditions of a potential deal.” An enquiry, not yet an offer. A first step, not a decisive move.

For a club staring at another Champions League play-off, that gap between interest and action is exactly what has supporters on edge.

A window shaped by what Celtic have lost

This summer was supposed to be about consolidation after a dramatic, hard-fought title win. Instead, it has been defined by who Celtic have failed to keep.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi, two of the key figures in that stirring late-season surge, are gone. Deals that manager Martin O’Neill specifically requested, players he wanted “tied down” to ease what everyone accepts is a major rebuild, were allowed to drift and die.

The offers? Described as lowball. The outcome? Predictable. Both moved on, leaving a manager short of two trusted lieutenants and a support once again questioning the ambition of the club’s hierarchy.

The fallout has been messy. Celtic were accused of briefing the mainstream media with a negative spin on Iheanacho’s wage demands. Those claims were quickly challenged by updates from Turkey, which painted a very different picture of the striker’s expectations. Whatever the truth of the numbers, the perception lingers: when it came to securing proven performers, Celtic blinked.

Now another pillar may be about to go. Ipswich Town have opened talks over Daizen Maeda, a relentless runner, a fan favourite and one of the few constants in a squad that has already lost too much certainty. While discussions continue, the prospect of Maeda’s departure hangs over everything.

So Hassan’s name enters the frame at a delicate moment. He is not just a potential signing; he is a symbol of the direction Celtic intend to take.

A policy under the microscope

The pattern is familiar. Celtic appear determined to move players off the wage bill before committing to major incomings. On a balance sheet, that might make sense. On the pitch, with Champions League qualifiers looming, it looks like a gamble.

The squad has seen “barely any meaningful strengthening” despite the obvious need for reinforcements. The club escaped last season’s European campaign with warnings ringing in their ears. Paul Lambert, a former Celtic captain and Champions League winner, has already cautioned that the club will not get away with the same approach twice.

Now, as the play-off window approaches again, O’Neill finds himself without Iheanacho, without Saracchi, and potentially without Maeda. The surgery he asked for has barely begun.

The enquiry for Hassan, then, feels like both a nod to the future and an indictment of the present. A talented winger with World Cup pedigree, yes. But also another case of Celtic hovering at the edge of the market, testing the water, while time drains away.

Hassan: promise in a climate of doubt

There is plenty to like about Hassan from a footballing standpoint. A wide player comfortable taking responsibility, he showed on the biggest stage that he can handle pressure and tempo. At Oviedo, he has developed into a key attacking outlet, and with only a year left on his contract, he represents an attainable target.

For Celtic, he could bring direct running, unpredictability, and a different type of threat from the flank. In a team that often leans on energy and work rate, he offers a touch of flair and incision.

Yet the wider context is impossible to ignore. This is a club that, right now, looks more focused on “maintenance” than momentum. The frustration is not that Celtic are interested in Hassan; it is that moves like this feel reactive, squeezed into the final weeks before crucial fixtures, rather than part of a clear, aggressive plan laid out early in the window.

Supporters have seen this movie before: enquiries, discussions, conditions explored. Deals that drag, opportunities missed, and a manager left to improvise when the season starts for real.

The enquiry for Haissem Hassan might be the start of a bolder push, the first piece of a late-window surge that gives O’Neill the tools he needs. Or it might be another near-miss in a summer defined by hesitation.

With the Champions League play-off fast approaching and key figures already out the door, Celtic no longer have the luxury of finding out the hard way.