It's never straightforward with Celtic on the transfer front, is it?

Following the debacle surrounding both Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi, things haven't progressed as expected elsewhere, with Camilo Duran still the only incoming ahead of the start of the new Premiership season a week on Monday.

It had looked as if a £4m move for Paderborn's Mika Baur was in the works, although even that deal has somewhat hit the skids, with the Hoops seemingly haggling over a transfer fee.

There's also the small matter of the club's pursuit of Egyptian star, Haissem Hassan, with it yet to be seen if the Real Oviedo man will end up at Parkhead this summer.

Why Celtic are so keen to sign Haissem Hassan

It was reported again earlier this week that the Scottish champions were exploring a deal for the £7m winger, although there has been little progress since then.

Like the case of Baur, Hassan has just a year left to run on his existing deal, ensuring that there should be a deal there for Celtic to do, provided that the price is right, of course.

The 24-year-old didn't exactly enjoy the most fruitful 2025/26 campaign in LaLiga, as Oviedo slipped to relegation, having failed to score and registered just three assists all season.

And yet, as he showcased on the international stage, there is a player there to be excited by, with Hassan notably starring in Egypt's cruel and controversial 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last 16.

It was the right-winger's assist that teed up Zico to make it 2-0, while he'd earlier embarked on a mazy, solo run in the build-up to his teammates' prior effort that was subsequently ruled out for offside.

That was a glimpse of the kind of ball-carrying quality that Hassan had shown back in Spain, notably ranking in the top 1% of wingers in Europe's big five leagues for both productive dribbles and progressive carries per 90, as well as in the top 7% for successful dribbles.

He's an exciting talent alright, although Celtic do appear to have other irons in the fire, if all goes south on this deal.

Celtic could see bid accepted to sign Hassan upgrade

Amid Daizen Maeda's move to Ipswich Town, the priority has to be to strengthen Martin O'Neill's forward line, with the Japanese speedster having almost single-handedly dragged the Hoops to the title in the final weeks of last season.

One man who could fill that goalscoring void is Bodo/Glimt's Kasper Hogh, with it having been claimed that the Dane is inching ever closer to joining the Glasgow giants.

Elsewhere, meanwhile, reports in Italy have indicated that Celtic are also keen on the Lazio pair of Gustav Isaksen and Matteo Cancellieri, with the Serie A side believed to be 'listening to offers' for a number of their players.

Isaksen's arrival appears more unlikely considering the Dane is currently injured, although the belief is that the situation surrounding Cancellieri could heat up soon.

The 24-year-old is valued at around €15m (£13m) at present, although the Rome-based side are potentially willing to negotiate a reduced fee, ensuring there is a deal there to be struck for O'Neill and co.

Another left-footed right-winger, like Hassan, Cancellieri enjoyed a far more fruitful campaign than the Egyptian in another of Europe's top five leagues.

While Hassan only chalked up three goal involvements in LaLiga, the Italian racked up double that in Serie A, despite only starting 21 games, suggesting that he could be a real asset for Celtic on the flanks.

Like Maeda in a sense, where the former Empoli man also excels is in what he offers out of possession, proving to be someone who can lead the press from the front so effectively.

Last term, for instance, the £13m-rated wideman ranked in the top 2% for defensive ground duels won per 90, as well as in the top 3% for both tackles and interceptions and box clearances made.

For comparison, Hassan ranked in just the top 36%, the bottom 43% and the bottom 38% for those same three metrics, respectively, having not exactly flourished when defending from the front.

Considering Cancellieri boasts the greater end product and defensive work ethic - having also bettered his Oviedo counterpart in terms of key passes made per game (0.6 vs 0.5) - it might well be the Italian that proves the better signing for O'Neill next season on that right-hand side.

With the aforementioned Duran on the left, and with Hogh hopefully leading the line through the middle, there could be an exciting, fresh feel to Celtic's forward line next season.