Paulo Bernardo has every right to feel aggrieved…
There are a few players in the Celtic squad who have been completely shunned these past few weeks, such as Joel Mvuka, Junior Adamu, Reo Hatate and of course long term enigma Michel-Ange Balikwisha who has disappeared off the radar altogether.
Paulo Bernardo hasn’t featured much under Martin O’Neill
Another player who hasn’t featured much is Paulo Bernardo, with the Portuguese midfielder not even featuring on the bench in recent weeks. In fact, he’s rarely featured under Martin O’Neill during his two interim spells in charge.
It’s a strange one, as I fully expected Paulo to be a key player under the leadership of Martin, as I honestly believed he was the sort of player who would excel in the Irishman’s side.
I’m not going to question Martin O’Neill’s decisions
I’m not going to question Martin O’Neill’s decisions on matters of who or is and isn’t in match-day squad, as the manager and his coaching staff sees more of the players than any us, but the recent omission of the former Portuguese under 21 skipper is still quite baffling.
Paulo is a player capable of taking control of midfield and can offer a bit of dig, something we’ve been missing in recent times. The Portuguese has that knack of making things look simple, and has that elegance as well as athleticism we badly lack in the middle of the park.
Paulo Bernardo performed well at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup quarter-final
I actually thought that Paulo Bernardo was one of our more steady performers in the Scottish Cup quarter final win at Ibrox, as he looked calm and assured in his time on the park in a pressure filled game.
Amazingly he’s only featured once since, and that was a twelve minute appearance from the bench in a 3-1 win over Motherwell at Celtic Park on 14th March.
Martin has explained his reasons on the Portuguese recent absence from the squad, but for me he’s a player who could well worth utilising in the final four fixtures of the season.
Many Celtic players, probably including Paulo Bernardo, will leave the club this summer
Like many of his teammates these four games will be their last at Celtic. Paulo is almost certainly for the off, as indeed is Reo Hatate.
There have been credible reports from the likes of Fabrizio Romano that our Player of the Year Benjamin Nygren is attracting serious interest ahead of a summer move, while Arne Engels also seems poised for the exit door after being denied a £25m move to Nottingham Forest in the January transfer window.
Callum McGregor linked with a move to Saudi Arabia
Then’s there the speculation linking Callum McGregor with a move to Saudi Arabia, possibly to join up with former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at
Celtic will be in transition this summer
Luke McCowan though recently signed a contract extension so we will definitely retain one of our current crop of midfielders.
What a summer it’s going to be at Celtic, the re-build is going to be huge!
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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