Celtic ready to trigger Paulo Bernardo clause after ‘huge’ development – Sources
Celtic plan to sign on-loan star Paulo Bernardo permanently this summer, sources have told Football Insider.
Well-placed sources told Football Insider (30 March) that the Hoops want to develop Bernardo, 22, with a view to selling him for a “huge” profit in the future.
Now, it is believed that Brendan Rodgers’ side intends to activate his £6million release clause in the summer to bring him to Parkhead permanently from Portuguese giants Benfica.
Rodgers is said to be very happy with the Portugal under-21s star’s development during his season-long loan.
Celtic plan to sign Paulo Bernardo permanently this summer
While Celtic’s summer budget is yet to be decided, it is believed that the Glasgow giants are very keen on activating his release clause.
Bernardo had a slow first half of the season but has emerged as a top option for the title-chasing Hoops.
He recently broke into the starting line-up having made just two league starts before Christmas.
The central midfielder has since been named in Rodgers’ starting XI on nine occasions and recently bagged a goal from the bench in Celtic’s 3-0 win against Livingston on Sunday (31 March).
That strike brought his goal tally up to four for the whole season in all competitions and he has also notched two assists.
Bernardo is a regular for Portugal’s under-21s and recently captained his country to a 5-1 victory over Croatia in their Euro qualifier on Tuesday (26 March) during the international break.
Celtic remained top of the league after their win against the Lions on Sunday afternoon.
They are next set to face arch-rivals Rangers in a huge Old Firm showdown at Ibrox on Sunday (7 April).
In other news, Celtic race Brentford to sign Championship star – sources.
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