Paulo Bernardo has emerged as a key contributor at Celtic in recent weeks and Brendan Rodgers has now issued an update on his long-term future at the club.
Celtic lead the way in the Scottish Premiership standings and underwent a mini-revival in the period before the winter break by winning four consecutive league matches.
Banishing memories of back-to-back defeats against Kilmarnock and Heart of Midlothian, the Hoops rallied to see off Livingston, Dundee, Rangers and St Mirren to extend their lead at the top to eight points, albeit their arch-rivals do have two games in-hand to close the gap.
One notable feature of this positive run of form has been the emergence of Bernardo, who claimed the third slot in midfield alongside Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley in light of Reo Hatate’s injury struggles.
Rodgers elected to throw Bernardo in from the start against Livingston and the Portugal Under-21 international hasn’t looked back since, scoring in consecutive matches against Dundee and Rangers before laying on two assists in the Hoops’ 3-0 victory over St Mirren at the turn of the year [Transfermarkt].
With Hatate on international duty at the Asian Cup, the Benfica loanee now has an opportunity to really establish himself as a critical member of Rodgers’ side within a run of crucial upcoming fixtures.
Brendan Rodgers offers permanent Paulo Bernardo deal hope
In light of his encouraging displays, Rodgers has offered hope that Celtic can capture Bernardo on a permanent deal while also revealing he has prior knowledge of any potential fee involved.
The former Liverpool manager stated on his future [Daily Record]: “I’m delighted with the emergence of Paulo. There is an agreement with the club, an option for us to activate that, if we want to do it. He came in and gradually he has learnt the principles of our play. Leading into the Rangers game last month I knew he was going to start and we wanted to give him a run of matches. He’s been fantastic.”
He later added: “We’ll assess it. I’ll sit down with him at some point towards the end of the season and take it from there. Do we know the fee involved? Yeah. But clearly the player would have to agree as well, it’s a two-way situation. But I can see Paulo is really enjoying his time here. He is improving and developing. Is the fee realistic? I’m not going to say what it is but, absolutely, otherwise it wouldn’t be in place.”
Paulo Bernardo should be a priority signing for Celtic
In the interest of honesty, Bernardo did endure a strange start to his Celtic career and was an active presence in the Champions League without being given an extended run of domestic appearances.
Despite this, he has shown admirable professionalism to break into Rodgers’ thinking and now looks to be an open goal the Hoops cannot afford to miss on the transfer front.
Various reports have sent mixed signals regarding his buyout fee. Football Scotland journalist Mark Hendry claimed earlier this month that his clause sits at around £6 million with an opportunity for ‘wiggle room’ in negotiations should the Scottish champions express a desire to land the Almada-born man.
Involved in nine Scottish Premiership matches, Bernardo has been a threat going forward, racking up an average of 2.1 shots per game and creating two big chances [Sofascore].
His defensive contribution has also come as a pleasant surprise to many onlookers. On the same token, the 21-year-old has won 1.9 tackles per league encounter and performed 2.7 successful ball recoveries per match.
Casting an eye to the summer, Bernardo should be earmarked as a priority signing, especially when factoring in the continued attention from elsewhere that Matt O’Riley is being subjected to.
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