“I want to be an entertainer,” Haissem Hassan

Haissem Hassan reveals his Celtic decision was made before World Cup heroics, as he promises Celtic fans that he’s here to entertain…

Haissem Hassan made a big impression in the World Cup, so much so that he outshone Lionel Messi as Egypt so nearly eliminated the reigning World Champions Argentina.

Hassan was instantly thrown into the global spotlight, with numerous interest directed the Egyptians way, with Hassan himself revealing that multiple offers where placed to his agent, but he’s since revealed that he only had thoughts for Celtic!

Indeed, he revealed that a pre-tournament chat with Martin O’Neill meant that he only had one destination in mind when it came to departing Real Oviedo. The new Celtic star said at his first media conference for the club: “I’d by lying if I said my phone didn’t go crazy, my agents had a lot of work. But I guess that’s normal.

“Playing in the World Cup for one or two games can change everything, especially playing against Argentina.

“But I’m convinced that Celtic is the right step for me and I’m really excited to be here. It took a bit of time and maybe it could have happened earlier. But I’m really focused on Celtic now and really looking forward to it.

“I was pretty set straight from the beginning. I’ve always been interested by Celtic and the project. Of course, you never know until it’s done. And because I’d been to the World Cup, my club Oviedo was maybe also expecting like a lot of money after that, so it took a bit of time with the negotiations and all that.

“But the fact that Celtic were already interested before the World Cup was a big thing as well. It was important. It showed Celtic believed in me before the World Cup and before everyone saw me on the big stage.

“They wanted me in January, so it definitely made an impact on the decision as well, knowing that they were already here well before everyone and that they believed in me in what they saw in Spain.”

Celtic supporters are keen to see their new star in action, and Hassan has promised them he will do his best to entertain them.

He added: “I want to be an entertainer. When I was young I watched a lot of videos of Neymar, Ronaldinho, and Robinho, like all the Brazilian players – and like the showmen.

“Obviously, football becomes a bit more like a business. But in the end, it’s like a sport and you want to have pleasure on the pitch and enjoy it. That’s what I want when I go onto the pitch.

“I know we need to win and play well. But I want the fans to be excited when they come to Celtic Park watching us play. There is always that part of giving people excitement.

“I’m pretty confident in my strengths in creating entertainment and being that winger that dribbles and beats people 1v1,” the new Celtic showman added.

Much has been made of Hassans ‘poor’ record when it comes to registering goals and assists, and the Egyptian knows that’s an area of his game that he needs to improve, but reckons playing in an side suited to attacking and dominant football will help his cause.

He explained: “I also know my areas of improvement, and I know I need to be more decisive with goals and assists. I think Celtic will help me in that aspect as well, being more dominant with better players and attacking football.

“That’s something I want to work on this season, going from being a player that can beat someone 1v1 to also being someone who scores goals and gets assists.”