Celtic WILL have Haissem Hassan in before the CL deadline. It appears the board understand the need for urgency with this one

A week ago, it looked as if a move for Haissem Hassan was dead in the water.

Outlets were claiming that he had set his heart on a move to Olympique de Marseille, and considering his French background, the whole idea of that looked pretty logical.

I even wrote a piece saying the deal was dead.

I believed it was because I felt Marseille would have much more gravitas and financial clout when it came to getting a move like this over the line.

Credit where credit is due, whatever Michael Nicholson did, it seems he has managed to convince Haissem Hassan that the lure of Glasgow in winter is a better option than the French Riviera.

Probablemente se anuncie mañana el traspaso de Haissem Hassan al Celtic, tras pasar reconocimiento médico.

Esto desbloquea muchas operaciones y el Real Oviedo podría inscribir a la plantilla para el partido del sábado, y también cerrar lo de Carlos Domínguez.

Gran noticia. https://t.co/gigrDKAew0

— bulldozer 🅱️💤 (@bulldozerOVD) August 10, 2026

I don’t often give this board credit, as you know, but this time I have to.

I’ve said many times that I would much rather be on here singing their praises, and getting excited about big moves for the club.

This is the kind of stuff I’d much prefer to talk about.

Haissem Hassan is a player to get excited about, so it’s nice for a change to be in this position.

But I won’t get carried away.

It would be foolish and naive of me to do so.

There is a long way to go before this squad is the complete article.

The addition of Hassan means that we can officially say that our frontline is ready for the season ahead.

And what a frontline it could turn out to be if we can keep it relatively injury free.

The only question right now that needs to be answered is how Camilo Duran fits into all of this?

It was clear for everyone to see how frustrated he was on Sunday again at being played out of position.

This is a situation Martin O’Neill will need to sort out sooner, rather than later.

I’ve no doubt Camilo Duran looked on at Kasper Høgh’s performance and hat-trick and thought to himself, ‘I could do that, I want a piece of that action.’

His body language told us everything we needed to know when he was subbed off late in Sunday’s game.

Right wing is NOT his favoured position.

Keeping him there would be counter-productive, and Martin and Shaun need to address this situation as soon as possible.

The arrival of Haissem Hassan should expedite that process, as he is predominantly a right winger.

Last Sunday gave us a glimpse of what Celtic is really capable of, and adding Hassan into the mix is going to make it even more exciting.

But as I said on the Trinity Tims last night, we have to hope that wasn’t a Jekyll and Hyde performance from Celtic, and that we see more of the same at Tannadice next Saturday evening.

With any luck, Hassan will be on the bench for that one and we might even get a glimpse of what he can do before the final whistle.

Am I confident that we’re ready for LASK, and that Hassan will be the final piece in the jigsaw for that tie?

Well, if we retain Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston’s services for this qualifier, I believe we can do it.

However, LASK are a far cry from a Neil McCann managed Kamikaze style Kilmarnock.

We’re all smart enough to know that they’ll be a much tougher proposition than that.

But if we can provide Kasper Høgh with the kind of service he got on Sunday, then we will score goals.

It’s the number of goals that will be crucial here because we need to be comfortable going into the second leg in Austria.

It is 2020 since the Austrian side last qualified for the Champions League, so they will be going all out to get into the League phase this time around.

If Celtic have Haissem Hassan in the side for this one, it’s unlikely he’ll have a major impact before the second leg.

It will be too early for him to contribute effectively in the first leg.

We might see him as a sub in that one, but I’d like to think he’ll play a more in depth role in the second leg.

If we can negotiate this tie and qualify, then the board will be more inclined to bring in the players we need to replace the likes of Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston.

The worry here that is if we don’t, then they won’t back Martin O’Neill full with the reinforcements he needs.

But let’s just focus on the immediate goals here.

Get Haissem Hassan finalised before Thursday’s deadline.

Then qualify for the Champtions League.

We can focus on everything else we need once that job is done.

But make no mistake, we really need to get that job done.

An awful lot hinges on it.

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