Photo courtesy of Celtic.
The Scottish Premiership champions announced on Wednesday that they had signed Hassan from Spanish side Real Oviedo on a four-year deal, with an option to extend the contract for an additional season.
“I’m delighted that Haissem's here and hopefully he'll do well,” O’Neill told Celtic’s official website. “I think that when he gets to see the surrounds here, I just think he'll glow.”
“People start to think about the number of things that players can't do, and I think you have to stay more in the positive of what players can do,” added the Northern Irish coach.
“Going past players now is a sort of a dying art, which is really almost unforgivable in football. And that's what fans get excited about.”
O’Neill also highlighted the impact Hassan’s direct style could have on his teammates and Celtic’s attacking play.
“And to tell you the truth, so do fellow players. They think if he can take people on and then cause some sort of havoc, make some goals, maybe score the occasional one as well too - all of that adds to the mix, but deep down I'm delighted we have him,” the 74-year-old coach said.
Born in France to an Egyptian father from Aswan and a Tunisian mother, Hassan represented France at youth level before pledging his senior international future to Egypt in March 2026.
The 24-year-old forward missed Egypt’s group-stage matches against New Zealand, Belgium, and Iran because of administrative delays before making his official World Cup debut as a substitute in the penalty shootout win over Australia in the round of 32.
Hassan’s breakthrough moment came in the round of 16 against Argentina, when he was handed a starting berth.
The winger brilliantly set up a goal that was eventually disallowed, but Argentina mounted a late comeback to edge the tie 3-2.
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