Brendan Rodgers started yesterday with chat about Celtic needing to trim down the squad and how players could be let go in January.
TBR Celtic named five players that we thought could be shown the door by Rodgers as the Celtic manager stressed he wanted to bring in more quality over quantity.
So this makes Paulo Bernardo’s recent comments about his current loan spell at Celtic all the more interesting.
The ‘elite‘ Portuguese midfielder was asked if he would like to follow Jota’s path and permanently stay on at Celtic after his loan spell expires next summer. And his reply will whet the appetite of the Celtic fans.
Bernardo said [The Herald], “In the time I have, I had to show the manager more and more. I will get better.
“Could I stay? I think so. But I have to play a little more to have that chance.”
Could Paulo Bernardo make it at Celtic?
My first impressions are that he looks like a very good player. Brought on as an early substitute for the injured Reo Hatate against Atletico Madrid, Bernardo equipped himself well against the La Liga side.
He looked calm and confident on the ball and he had a very good engine on him.
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However, he failed to turn up against Hibs on Saturday as Celtic dropped points at Easter Road so if he is chosen tonight then he will need to really show why Celtic should take him on permanently.
The 21-year-old has only played a grand total of 183 minutes in six appearances so far for Celtic so let’s see how he fares as the season goes on.
Rodgers clearly rates him. The Celtic manager said he ‘showed quality‘ against Atletico and seemed impressed with the midfielder.
For me, I would like Celtic to hold fire before any talk of making his move permanent progresses. Let’s see what he can do over a full season like Jota did, not just a handful of games.
In other news, Barry Ferguson thinks Celtic now have a ‘superb’ player worth £15m