John Hartson Predicts Celtic’s Next Big Exit

Paulo Bernardo’s performances for Celtic have sparked speculation that he could be the club’s next high-profile sale, potentially fetching a significant transfer fee that’s up there with Celtic’s record-breaking numbers.

The 22-year-old Portuguese midfielder, who eventually permanently joined Celtic for £3.5 million from Benfica this summer following a successful loan, has seamlessly taken over the midfield role formerly held by Matt O’Riley. His standout displays in Celtic’s 3-0 victories over Rangers and St Mirren caught the attention of many, including former Celtic striker John Hartson.

Hartson believes that Bernardo could coMMAnd a fee of up to £20 million in the future, citing the player’s rapid development under manager Brendan Rodgers. This midfield that Bernardo has been a part of over the past few Games has contributed significantly to Celtic’s early success in the Premiership this season.

John Hartson said to STV: “Brendan likes signing players he feels he can improve. Brendan’s brilliant on the training ground and he likes to work with them.

“You look at Bernardo now, who was absolutely terrific in the last Game. He’ll probably be the next £15million or £20million player to go from Celtic. He’s that good.

“Matt O’Riley was £1.5million from MK Dons a couple of years ago, you’ve got Kieran Tierney coming through from the youth team, Moussa Dembele who cost £500,000 and they sold him for £20million.

“It’s remarkable, but it’s down to hard work from Brendan, his style and putting them in when they’re ready.”

Having Bernardo at Celtic last season on loan and then getting him for a cut-price deal has turned out to be an excellent piece of Business.

He did well last season, in which there were pretty limited minutes. He clearly used the time to bed into Celtic and Glasgow, and this season, so far, he’s kicked on and been great in the Hoops.

If he keeps his performance levels as high as they have been, it won;t be hard to coMMAnd £20 million for him.