Celtic confirmed the signing of Haissem Hassan on a four-year contract with an option to extend that deal by a further season earlier this week.
The Egypt international has been brought in to bolster Martin O’Neill‘s options on the right side of the attack, adding a naturally left-footed player to that position.
An initial fee of £6m has been paid to Real Oviedo as part of the deal to bring him to Glasgow, with the possibility of a further £3m in add-ons to take the total fee to £9m.
The 24-year-old attacker will now be looking to impress supporters with his play on the flank once he is settled in and ready to play competitive matches in the coming weeks.
What Haissem Hassan needs to improve at Celtic
Hassan is far from the finished article, however, and fans may need to be patient with his performances in the short-term, as he is yet to prove himself to be a consistent performer in the final third.
He has arrived at Paradise off the back of failing to score a single goal in 37 appearances in LaLiga for Real Oviedo in the 2025/26 campaign, which shows that he needs to improve his output as a goalscorer.
|
25/26 LaLiga |
Haissem Hassan |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
37 |
|
xG |
1.59 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.5 |
|
Big chances created |
2 |
|
Assists |
3 |
The Egyptian star has never scored more than four goals or provided more than five assists in a single season in his club career to date, assisting three times in the Spanish top-flight last term.
Celtic will need him to change that if they want him to be a regular starter on the right flank, as they need a steady stream of goals and assists from their attackers to break down low blocks and challenge for multiple trophies.
O’Neill and his coaches will have to work with him on the training pitch to build relationships with other players and show him what movements to make to generate chances for himself in front of goal.
How Celtic could instantly upgrade on Haissem Hassan
Whilst there is a question mark over Hassan’s output in the final third, the club are also looking at another player in his position who could offer a greater goal threat.
According to a report from Turkey, Celtic are one of the teams interested in a deal to sign Lech Poznan winger Patrik Walemark before the end of the summer transfer window.
The Hoops and Dutch side Groningen are the two sides said to be keeping tabs on the 24-year-old attacker with a view to a potential swoop for his services, as Martin O’Neill lines up another attacking addition.
Lech Poznan will not allow the Swedish winger to leave easily, though, and will demand a fee of up to around £6m from any teams wanting to sign him.
The former Feyenoord attacker would be an intriguing signing by the Hoops as another right-sided attacker who likes to cut in from that side to use his favoured left foot.
Walemark joined Lech Poznan from Feyenoord in January 2025 and has racked up ten goals and 13 ‘big chances’ created in the subsequent 18 months of league football in Poland.
|
Walemark (Ekstraklasa |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
22 |
17 |
|
Starts |
16 |
11 |
|
Goals |
8 |
2 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.9 |
1.2 |
|
Big chances created |
9 |
4 |
|
Assists |
3 |
1 |
A return of ten goals in 27 league starts for his club shows that he can be effective as a goalscorer when available, and that he would offer a greater threat in front of goal than Hassan.
The Egyptian forward has only scored eight goals in his entire senior career and has never created more than six ‘big chances’ for his teammates in a single campaign, suggesting that Walemark would be an even better option than him on the right flank.
Should Celtic sign the Sweden international from Lech Poznan, Hassan could find himself on the bench if he is unable to add more goal contributions to his game.
The Hoops are a dominant team that create plenty of chances for their attackers, as evidenced by the recent 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, and Walemark looks more likely to take advantage of that than Hassan on current evidence.
Therefore, the 24-year-old winger could be an even better signing for the club as a player who can offer more of a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the right side of the attack.
His return of 12 goals and 13 assists in 54 matches for Hacken in Sweden earlier in his career is further proof of the consistent quality that he can provide in the final third, which is something that Hassan still lacks.
