Celtic's Midfield Crisis: The Need for Strength and Depth
Celtic look set to make another statement in the market, with Egyptian World Cup winger Haissem Hassan edging towards a move to Glasgow. The deal is not over the line yet, and nobody inside Celtic Park will breathe fully easy until he is holding up the shirt, but the direction of travel is clear.
If Hassan becomes the club’s third summer arrival, joining Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran, Brendan Rodgers will suddenly have an attacking unit with bite, variety and, crucially, goals. Hogh offers penalty-box presence, Duran brings flair, and Hassan would add direct running from wide areas that can unpick low blocks at home and stretch defences in Europe.
That is one side of the squad taking shape. The other tells a more uncomfortable story.
A midfield running on fumes
Once Hassan is through the door, Celtic’s attention cannot drift. It has to lock onto the middle of the pitch, because that area is creaking.
Arne Engels is expected to move on before the window closes. Reo Hatate is heading the same way. Paulo Bernardo has already gone. Strip those names out of the squad list and the picture sharpens quickly: Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren, Luke McCowan and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all that remain as recognised midfield options.
Four players. A 60-game season. Domestic trophies to chase and another crack at Europe. The numbers do not add up.
The issue is not only depth. It is profile.
McGregor, the heartbeat of Celtic’s modern era, no longer covers ground with the same relentlessness. Oxlade-Chamberlain, for all his experience and technical quality, has also left his peak years behind. Nygren and McCowan are in their prime and comfortable on the ball, but neither is a natural sprinter across the turf. There is craft there, but not enough chaos. Plenty of passers, not enough destroyers.
In short, Celtic’s midfield lacks steel and legs. And that has been obvious for a while.
The Achilles heel that won’t go away
The engine room has been Celtic’s weak point for more than one campaign now. When domestic games become stretched or European ties turn into running battles, the side too often gets exposed in transition. Opponents burst through the centre of the pitch; Celtic chase back, rather than hunt forward.
It has cost them. Repeatedly.
The defence, on the whole, is not the problem. A new goalkeeper is required and a back-up left-back is on the list – a role that may well be filled by Greg Taylor if the reshaping goes that way – but structurally the back line is not in crisis.
Up front, the picture is brighter. Hogh has already given a glimpse of his penalty-area instincts. Duran has added sharpness and invention. If Hassan signs, Celtic will have three fresh attacking options to rotate and combine with the existing cast. The front line looks ready to hurt teams again.
That contrast only throws the midfield gap into sharper relief. The squad is being built from the top and back, while the core risks being hollowed out.
Numbers, energy, and urgency
What Celtic need now is not a tweak but a surge: at least a couple of midfielders with power, running capacity and the kind of aggression that can change the tempo of a match.
They need someone who can press high and still have the lungs to recover. Someone who can snap into tackles, then drive 20 yards with the ball. Someone who can let McGregor pick his passes rather than firefight every counter-attack.
Because once Engels and Hatate depart, the current group will be fragile, vulnerable and, in truth, dangerously thin for a club with Celtic’s ambitions. One injury or suspension to McGregor or Nygren and the balance of the entire side shifts.
The club have moved decisively in attack. They have kept the defensive rebuild controlled. Now comes the hard part: fixing the very area that has undermined them in Europe and left them chasing shadows in too many big games.
Haissem Hassan might soon be unveiled under the lights at Celtic Park, another exciting forward for a support that craves attacking football. The real measure of this window, though, will be taken not on the wings, but in the middle. Will Celtic finally build a midfield worthy of the stage they insist they belong on?
