The club-record £13m signing Celtic could make

While pre-season results shouldn’t be looked into too much, Celtic‘s first outing as they prepare for 2026/27 was a tad worrying, drawing with Shelbourne.

It showed that plenty of work needs to be done in the window. Their Old Firm rivals have come flying out of the traps but for the Hoops, it’s been a rather sluggish start as far as incomings are concerned.

Long gone are the days of Ange Postecoglou bringing in players almost instantly. To date, Martin O’Neill is yet to get any moves over the line but as the Irishman confirmed on Tuesday, Camilo Duran has undergone a medical ahead of a prospective move to Parkhead.

That’s not the only move in the pipeline, however. The Bhoys are looking to sign one of the breakout stars of the World Cup in the form of Egyptian Haissem Hassan.

Why Celtic are looking to sign Haissem Hassan

One look at the stats from last season and supporters will no doubt fear that Hassan could fall into the category of being another Michel-Ange Balikwisha or Joel Mvuka.

The Hoops have been burnt several times by underwhelming signings in the final third and on initial inspection, Hassan does not look much better. For LaLiga side Real Oviedo, the winger failed to score in 2025/26, registering just three assists.

Alarm bells are ringing already but fear not, Hassan is a much better player than those numbers in Spain suggest.

Indeed, amid claims this week that Celtic have submitted a £3m bid for the forward, he was tearing it up for Egypt at the World Cup against Lionel Messi’s Argentina of all teams.

As Egypt threatened to knock out the world champions, going 2-0 up, Hassan was one of the stars of the show. He very nearly created one of the goals of the tournament, darting down the right hand, nutmegging one Argentina player before the African side scored a goal that was ultimately disallowed for a foul in the build-up. He did, at least, go on to supply the second. This time it was not ruled out.

It was a magical piece of play. The Secret Scout on X even suggested he was playing like a “£100m winger“. That might be pushing it a bit but for those who have watched Oviedo regularly, they will tell you that is no surprise.

Indeed, the 24-year-old ranks among the top 7% of wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for successful dribbles and among the best 1% for progressive carries with a whopping 7.09. He’s a livewire alright, someone who could light up the Premiership. Nearly 20% of Oviedo’s progressive play came just from Hassan.

All that said, Celtic could make an even better signing in attack in the forthcoming weeks.

Why £13m target would be even better than Hassan

With Duran set to sign and Hassan potentially also in the pipeline, Celtic’s attack already looks set to vastly improve heading into next season.

That said, if they were able to get their hands on Kieron Bowie, it would make things even better.

Reports this week coming out of Italy indicate that the Hoops are preparing a significant offer to sign the Hellas Verona star this summer and it could take as much as £13m, a club-record fee, to prise him away from Serie A.

Celtic fans will know Bowie well from his exploits with Hibernian, where the Scot managed 15 goals in 52 games. He only actually moved to Verona over the winter but has had a bit of a mixed time in Italy.

Overall, the 23-year-old had a fine campaign for both Hibs and Verona, bagging 13 goals in 44 games. Those are not mindblowing numbers but he quickly grew into his role in Italy, ending 2025/26 with three goals in his last six league appearances.

So, unlike Hassan, Bowie has the output, he’s got the end product and we already know that he’s a success in Scottish football. He’s less of a risk than the Egyptian, that’s for sure.

He outperformed his xG last term too. Based on expected goals, the young Scottish star was expected to net nearly six times in the Premiership but actually beat the goalkeeper on eight occasions.

Speaking during his time at Hibs, Bowie even admitted that the Premiership is where he feels most at home: “Scottish football definitely suits my playing style,” he striker said. “It’s a rough game up here compared to down in England. That’s part of my game, I like to batter people about and it’s exciting especially with bigger defenders.”

So, even if the young attacker has not run rampant in the Scottish top-flight just yet, he feels like a player who is simply ready and waiting to explode. He could do just that at Celtic.