One of Celtic's key transfer targets looks to be no closer to a move to Glasgow despite ongoing talks. The Bhoys are preparing to finalise a deal to sign Kasper Hogh from Bodo/Glimt for £11million plus add-ons, but work goes on to land the next transfer target.
Celtic have a lot of work to do, and they do not have much time to do it, with the season starting on Monday night, while there is only a month remaining in the summer transfer window.
The next priority seems to be either a winger or a goalkeeper signing, and Celtic need both after the retirement of Kasper Schmeichel and the £10million sale of Daizen Maeda this summer.
Real Oviedo star Haissem Hassan looks to be a clear target for the Hoops after the winger impressed at the World Cup with Egypt, and recent reports suggest the Bhoys will return with a fresh bid for the winger, which is likely to be lower than what Oviedo will accept.
That is to say a deal is not close, with negotiations very much ongoing, and according to a fresh report from La Voz de Asturias, Hassan will return to pre-season training with his teammates on Wednesday.
Hassan was given extra time off due to his participation in the World Cup with Egypt, but he is now expected to report back to training in Asturias under the assumption, for now, that he will still be an Oviedo player come the start of the Segunda Division campaign.
Oviedo are preparing for live in the second division after suffering relegation at the first time of asking on the back of their promotion to LaLiga.
Hassan may well be on the move, and it may well be Celtic who sign him, as long as they are willing to increase their offer to meet Oviedo somewhere in the middle, but he is staying put until a deal can be reached, and he is expected to start summer training in the meantime.
Hassan and his teammates also have a new manager to impress this summer, with Julián Calero having taken the reins from Guillermo Almada, who had been at the club since December, hired to try to keep Oviedo in the top flight. That appointment did not work, and so they will start again in the second tier, hoping to bounce back up to the top flight. Calero has previously spent time with FC Porto and the Spanish national team as an assistant, and he most recently managed Levante.
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