Paulo Bernardo is knocking on the door giving Brendan Rodgers a midfield dilemma for Saturday evening’s Scottish Premiership fixture at McDiarmid Park…
Since the Portuguese midfielder returned to Celtic on a £3.5m permanent transfer from Benfica in the summer, his eye-catching performances have not gone unnoticed.
A sublime display against theRangers, dominating the central area of the pitch seemed to look incredibly natural for the 22 year-old. Harshly dropped for Celtic’s 2-0 victory over Hearts two weeks ago, Bernardo looked impressive again on Sunday against Falkirk. The cushioned volley emphasised the technical qualities he brings to the team.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor is undroppable, so too is Hoops record signing Arne Engels. Therefore, Bernardo is competing for a midfield spot with Reo Hatate.
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Hatate was outstanding in Celtic’s Champions League opener against Slovan Bratislava providing a quality assist for his fellow countryman Daizen Maeda. However, inconsistency seems to be Hatate’s issue. The 26 year-old is an enigma for Brendan Rodgers. You are not quite sure the kind of performance he will put in.
Mentally, it is understandable that players can switch off in League Cup games against lower league opposition. Nonetheless, Hatate has shown glimpses of overplaying at times, and that will be an major issue for Celtic next Tuesday at Signal Iduna Park should the ball be turned over.
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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 night.
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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 starter.
Conor Spence
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