Celtic manager Martin O’Neill needs to add more quality to his ranks at the top end of the pitch before the summer transfer window slams shut in September.
The Hoops had to wait until the final day of the Scottish Premiership season to seal the title with a win over Hearts, and they will not want it to be as tight next term.
In order to run away with the title and leave their rivals in the dust once again, the Glasgow giants need to recruit more quality to bolster their squad in the coming weeks.
One of the players who could be negatively affected by the club’s recruitment drive is Hyun-jun Yang, who emerged as a regular starter for the Hoops last season.
Why Hyun-jun Yang’s Celtic role could be in danger
The South Korea international started 28 of his 31 appearances for Celtic in the Premiership in the 2025/26 campaign, after starting nine times in the 2024/25 season and ten times in his first year at the club.
Whilst the 24-year-old talent deserves credit for finally emerging as a regular starter at Parkhead after being a bit-part player in his first two years in Glasgow, the fact that Yang was in the XI week-in-week-out is evidence of the team’s decline from an attacking perspective.
Nicolas Kuhn produced 13 goals and nine assists in the Premiership on the right wing for the Hoops in the 2024/25 campaign, before Yang took his place and racked up eight goals and one assist in the division.
The South Korean’s lack of creativity, in particular, was a concern because he only assisted one goal in 39 appearances in the Europa League and the Premiership combined.
He ranked in the bottom 35% of wingers in the Scottish top-flight for assists and the bottom 19% for cross success rate (11.5%), which illustrates how much the forward underperformed as a creator on the right wing.
Celtic now in talks to sign Yang replacement
Given some of his struggles in the final third last season, Yang should now be worried about losing his place in the starting XI amid talk that the club are looking to sign a player in his position.
Reports in Brazil suggest that Celtic are pursuing a deal to sign right-sided winger Haissem Hassan from Real Oviedo in the summer transfer window.
It is claimed that the Hoops are in ongoing talks with the LaLiga 2 outfit over a transfer to bring the Egypt international to Parkhead ahead of next season.
The expectation is that the Scottish giants will finalise a deal for the left-footed star as early as next week, as they continue discussions with both Real Oviedo and the player’s representatives.
|
Celtic target factfile |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Haissem Hassan |
|
Age |
24 |
|
Current club |
Real Oviedo |
|
Preferred foot |
Left |
|
Preferred position |
Right wing |
|
Career club appearances |
255 |
|
Career club goals |
15 |
|
Career club assists |
22 |
|
National team |
Egypt |
|
International caps |
6 |
The Egyptian forward, who has previously been touted at a price of £7m, could be an exciting addition to the squad after he played for his country at the World Cup, assisting one goal in a defeat to Argentina.
Hassan would not arrive at Parkhead as a player who should immediately be expected to put up Kuhn-esque numbers in the final third, but he does have the potential to offer more than Yang as an all-round winger.
For example, the 24-year-old wing wizard assisted six goals in the last two seasons for Real Oviedo in LaLiga and LaLiga 2 combined, whilst the South Korean only recorded three assists in the Premiership in that time.
That is particularly damning for Yang when you consider that Hassan was playing for a Real Oviedo team that got relegated from LaLiga, whilst he was in a dominant Celtic side that won the title both seasons.
In the 2025/26 LaLiga campaign, Hassan completed 23.9% of his attempted crosses and 49.2% of his attempted dribbles, dribbling past 61 defenders in total, despite playing for a struggling side.
Yang, meanwhile, completed 11.5% of his crosses and 40.3% of his dribbles, dribbling past 25 defenders in total, in the Premiership for Celtic, as they won the league.
Whilst Hassan needs to show more of a goal threat, scoring four league goals in the last two seasons, his ability to dribble past defenders and provide more creativity than Yang could make him a more effective all-round option for O’Neill.
That is why this latest update on the club’s pursuit of the Egypt international could come as bad news to the current Hoops winger and his hopes of being a regular starter next term.
