Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney has responded to a question about the Bhoys' likely next signing Haissem Hassan. Maloney stepped in for Martin O'Neill to take Friday's press conference ahead of Sunday's clash with Kilmarnock.
O'Neill is recovering at home after a health scare that saw him undergo a 'small procedure'. It is not yet clear of O'Neill will be in the dugout for Sunday's clash, but Celtic will give him all the time he needs to recover.
Maloney on new recruits
Maloney responded to a question about Celtic's proposed signing of Hassan, who is expected to join on a deal worth up to £9million in the coming days. The winger has reportedly agreed to join the Bhoys, and talks with Real Oviedo are almost at the point of being completed.
Celtic are hoping to agree a fee of £6million plus £3million in add-ons, and the exact structure is being ironed out, but Oviedo are said to be generally happy with the terms, even with Hassan's old club Villarreal set to bag 40% of the fee.
Hassan is likely to become Celtic's third signing of the summer, and excitement is building among fans, but the winger will not be involved on Sunday, meaning the transfer needs some work still.
"Not too sure," Maloney responded. "The processes around the club has genuinely been Martin and Michael (Nicholson). I don't see anything changing in the squad this weekend.
"Apart from Jota being unavailable, everyone else is fit. For transfers, I don't see any ins or outs. Martin is still over it."
Jota has returned to training after a layoff of around 16 months, but he still has lots of work to do before he can be considered for selection. The Portuguese winger has had a torrid time recovering from his ACL rupture, spending much more time than expected on the sidelines.
But his return will be a welcome one, and if Celtic can also add Hassan to their ranks, they should be happy with what they have out wide, especially with others like Benjamin Nygren and Camilo Duran able to play out wide.
The Bhoys will go with what they have on Sunday, though, and it will be interesting to see if they stick with last week's starters Duran and Yang Hyun-jun or whether they change it up. The Hoops can also call upon James Forrest and Sebastian Tounekti out wide, and both made it off the bench last week.
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