Paulo Bernardo is banging on doors, posing a midfield conundrum for Brendan Rodgers ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Premiership match at McDiarmid Park.
The Portuguese midfielder’s impressive performances have not gone unnoticed when he returned to Celtic on a permanent £3.5 million transfer from Benfica in the summer.
The 22-year-old put on a great show against the Rangers, controlling the middle of the pitch. It appeared to come naturally to him. Bernardo, who was harshly dropped for Celtic’s 2-0 victory over Hearts two weeks prior, performed admirably against Falkirk on Sunday.
The cushioned volley highlighted his technical contributions to the group. Both Celtic captain Callum McGregor and new Hoops record acquisition Arne Engels are unstoppable.
Bernardo and Reo Hatate are so vying for a midfield position.
In Celtic’s Champions League first match against Slovan Bratislava, Hatate excelled, setting up a superb assist for fellow national Daizen Maeda. Hatate’s problem appears to be inconsistentness, though. For Brendan Rodgers, the 26-year-old remains a mystery.
You are unsure of the type of performance he will deliver. It makes sense mentally for players to lose focus when playing lower division opponents in division Cup matches.
However, Hatate has occasionally displayed signs of overplaying, and should the ball be turned over against Celtic on Tuesday at Signal Iduna Park, that will be a significant problem.
On the other hand, creatively, Hatate is a key playmaker for the side. His expertly chipped pass to Valle for Bernardo’s well executed volley against Falkirk led to Celtic’s equalising goal. This came after the midfield man being culpable for John McGlynn’s sides opener having been too slow to react to the second ball.
Barring any injury worries, Brendan Rodgers will play his strongest team on Saturday. The team against St Johnstone will reflect what he will go with in Dortmund on Tuesday.
An inclusion of Bernardo for Hatate may give the side more discipline something I think Rodgers will be emphasising to his players on Tuesday nights
A midfield trio of McGregor, Engels and Bernardo is exciting. There is an attacking fluidity to it and also gives the team good balance.
We shall see what the manager does, but a midfield personnel tweak would not be surprising. Paulo Bernardo deserves the opportunity to go and become a regular start.
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