Is Haissem Hassan’s Celtic career over before it ever begins? We need to see a hell of a lot more from the Egyptian winger…

Last Sunday, Haissem Hassan didn’t even make the matchday squad for Celtic.

Martin O’Neill left him out altogether for the 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.

Not on the bench, not a sniff – just out.

Many are now wondering if the manager is getting tired of him.

Between his inability to create anything meaningful going forward and his lack of desire to track back for the team, it’s not hard to see why.

But is Hassan just another example of Celtic’s poor player recruitment, or is he a diamond in the rough?

Is he waiting to burst onto the scene fully, or have we already seen all we’re going to get?

Yesterday, I republished an article highlighting the amount of money Celtic has wasted on projects, loans and flops.

So the question here is a simple one.

Is Hassan going to fall into that flop category, or is he finally going to come good?

Much has been speculated about his cost, but it is believed he was signed initially for £6 million.

The fee is reported to rise to £9 million.

That remaining £3 million is supposed to be based around performance add-ons…

With the way things have been going so far, Celtic might just be saving themselves that £3 million.

Needless to say, we need to see a lot more from him.

In reality, he has supplied just two assists in 17 appearances.

Hardly an excellent return on Celtic’s investment so far, is it?

Here is what the Daily Record reported on the lads who did get the nod on Sunday:

Jota and Camilo Duran started in wide areas with Kasper Hogh leading the line, while wide men James Forrest, Yang and Sebastian Tounekti came off the bench. Callum Osmand also appeared as a substitute to play on the flank.

Read that again.

Forrest, Yang, Tounekti and even Osmand were all deemed more useful than Hassan, who wasn’t in the squad at all.

Let that sink in, because you and I both know how much we were told to expect from this lad.

A winger who was supposed to be a top target last summer, and who the club had apparently been tracking since his World Cup display against Argentina.

Now he can’t get a seat on the bench against Kilmarnock.

You’d have to say that tells its own story.

I’m sure he’s aware of that too, or at least he has been made acutely aware of it.

Here is how O’Neill explained it after the game, when asked how Hassan was:

“How is (Hassan)? We’re trying to do, as much as possible, we’re trying to do a bit of manoeuvring at this minute. I just think it’ll be great for places.”

“If there’s proper competition for places, it can only make us better.”

Now, I’ll give the manager his due.

Competition for places is a perfectly sensible thing to talk about.

But ‘a bit of manoeuvring’ isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for a player the club paid up to £9 million for, is it?

And it tells you everything that the answer to a question about Hassan came with no mention of Hassan whatsoever.

Then again, who am I to judge what O’Neill is seeing in training every day?

Maybe there is a reason for it that we don’t know about.

But from where I’m sitting, a winger who doesn’t create and doesn’t defend has very little left to offer.

Hassan has the chance to regroup this international break with Egypt.

He has joined the squad to face Malawi in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on 13 and 17 November.

New Egypt boss Ali Maher has also had his say on the situation.

He told the media over there:

“I want the players to work hard and persevere. I stress that the national team’s door is open to all players.”

Fair enough, that sounds like a manager looking for a response.

And he is not the only one.

I just hope Hassan returns to Celtic fully reinvigorated and ready to hit the ground running.

Because if he doesn’t, he may just be headed in the same direction as his Belgian counterpart, Michel-Ange Balikwisha.

And we all know how that one has gone.

Balikwisha cost us over £5 million and has barely been seen since.

Add Hassan’s reported £9 million to that, and you’re looking at possibly £14 million wasted on the right wing in the last year or so…

That wouldn’t be like Celtic at all now, would it?

Same old story – the board spends, the support waits, and the winger watches from the stand.

Keep your eyes on the next squad list…

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