Celtic's Midfield Crisis: A Call for Reinforcement

Haissem Hassan is close. Close enough for the whispers around Celtic Park to sound a little more like expectation than hope. But until the Egyptian World Cup forward is holding up a scarf in front of the main stand, the deal remains what it is: a promise, not a guarantee.

If, as widely reported, Hassan does become Celtic’s third summer signing, he walks into a frontline that suddenly looks sharp-edged again. Kasper Hogh is already in the building. Camilo Duran too. Three fresh attacking options, three different ways to hurt teams. For a club that too often felt predictable in the final third last season, that matters.

It cannot be the end of the rebuild.

The squad still feels lopsided, and everyone inside the ground can see where the real problem lies. The middle of the park is creaking. A goalkeeper is still required, a back‑up left-back is on the list – Greg Taylor is the obvious candidate to hold that role – but those are finishing touches. The heart of this team needs surgery, not a sticking plaster.

Midfield exodus leaves Celtic exposed

The departures tell their own story. Arne Engels is expected to move on before the window shuts. Reo Hatate is also heading for the exit. Paulo Bernardo has already gone. Strip those names out of the squad list and what’s left in central midfield looks thin and vulnerable.

Right now, Celtic can call on Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren, Luke McCowan and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in that area. Four players for a season that will demand depth, rotation and intensity at home and abroad. Four players for a club that expects to dominate the ball and the tempo.

McGregor still leads, still sets standards, still drags his side up the pitch as he did against Dundee at Celtic Park on 3 August 2026, applauding the fans and taking the noise with him. But he is no longer at the physical peak that once allowed him to cover every blade of grass. Oxlade-Chamberlain is in the same bracket: big-game experience, but not the relentless engine he once was.

Nygren and McCowan are in their prime years and have already shown they can influence games. Nygren’s towering header to give Celtic a 1-0 lead against Dundee was a reminder of his timing and penalty-box presence. McCowan offers craft and control. Neither, though, is blessed with searing pace or that relentless, harrying energy that unsettles opponents and turns tight matches.

Celtic need legs. Urgently.

The Achilles heel that won’t go away

For all the talk of systems and shapes, the same flaw keeps resurfacing. The lack of energy and bite in midfield has been Celtic’s Achilles heel for too long, exposed brutally when the opposition steps up a level.

Domestically, the side can often get away with it. Possession, territory, moments of quality in the final third – they usually arrive. But in Europe, where games are played at a different speed and mistakes are punished, that missing gear in midfield has been a decisive factor in too many flat, forgettable nights.

The defence, by contrast, is not in crisis. Yes, a new goalkeeper is required and a left-back to push or cover Taylor, but the back line as a unit is not the glaring weakness. It bends at times, but it is not built on sand.

Up front, the picture is even brighter. Hogh has already added presence and movement. Duran brings a different dimension. Hassan, if and when he signs, adds another direct, unpredictable threat. The attacking department has been refreshed with purpose.

Which leaves the middle of the pitch exposed under the harshest light.

A clear priority, no hiding place

Celtic’s main task now is obvious: reinforce a midfield that looks fragile today and will look even weaker once the outgoing transfers are confirmed. The club cannot gamble on one more season of asking McGregor to do the running of two men, or hoping Oxlade-Chamberlain’s experience will mask the miles in his legs.

They need steel. They need energy. They need at least a couple of players who can press, cover ground, and still use the ball well enough to fit into a side that expects to dominate.

The attack is being rebuilt. The defence is one or two smart moves away from being settled. Everything in between is where this season will be won, or lost.