Haissem Hassan is on the verge of a move to Celtic, according to a report.
The Real Oviedo winger has been on the radar at Parkhead even before appearing at the World Cup for Egypt. His impressive displays at the finals had the potential to make things difficult n terms of potentially driving his price up, as well as alerting other clubs to his quality.
Previous reports had suggested Celtic had a £3.4million offer knocked back by the Spanish side, some way short of the £10m release clause in his contract, reduced from £14m due to Oviedo's relegation.
Now, Spanish outlet lne.es is claiming the 24-year-old is moving closer to a move to the Scottish champions.
It is claimed the east end of Glasgow was always his most likely destination and that negotiations have progressed well in recent days, with significant steps forward made.
Final details still need to be thrashed out, but it is thought the deal could be pushed through in the coming days.
Earlier this summer, Hassan hinted he could leave the relegated Spaniards.
He said: "I haven't spoken to anyone at Oviedo yet, but I have one year left on my contract and nobody is untouchable at a club like this.
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"Football is a business and, at my age, I think I can bring in some money for the club.
"But I don't know what will happen.
"It was a learning season for me with Real Oviedo in La Liga and we've all made mistakes.
"It was a difficult season - you saw an Oviedo team that wasn't used to this level, but we didn't imagine it would be this tough.
"On a personal level? I've had my ups and downs, good times and not-so-good times. So I needed a break after the season both physically and mentally.
"I'm very happy in Oviedo. They've always treated me well and I've experienced the best time of my career here.
"Oviedo will always be a part of my heart, but we'll see what happens.
"I don't know if I'll stay or not."
