Celtic are “unlikely” to bring back Paulo Bernardo on a permanent transfer with reports emerging over the midfielder’s bumper Benfica contract.
The midfielder spent last season on loan at Brendan Rodgers’ side acting as an understudy for the Scottish Premiership champions when Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor were sidelined with injury. He also came off the bench to help down Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final – with the Hoops keen to bring the player back to Glasgow’s east end on a permanent basis.
Celtic held an option to buy in the loan agreement but have been locked in talks with the Lisbon giants to negotiate that price tag down. However, it now appears that the salary demands of the Portuguese U21 international has put the deal on the rocks with Correio da Manhã claiming Celtic “would need a very good offer to convince him to give up on what he gets from Benfica”.
It is claimed Bernardo currently earns €1million every year in Portugal. The Hoops are said to believe Bernardo is on “too high a salary” and could pull out of any deal.
While the Bernardo deal may be up in the air, it looks like a certainty Jeremie Frimpong will bank a bumper payday for the Scottish champions. The Bayer Leverkusen star is being chased by clubs across Europe – with Celtic set to bank 30 per cent of any sale.
The full-back has been a key figure in helping Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten side claim an historic first German title and is now impressing at Euro 2024. AS report that Barcelona are now leading the race for a deal and with the release clause for the Netherlands international now “expired” – which had previously stood at €40million.
It is claimed that the La Liga giants are willing to pay as much as €60million to bring the star to Catalonia this summer. New boss Hansi Flick is said to have demanded the wing-back be signing “at any cost”.
