Celtics seal deal with Benfica for loanee midfielder Paulo Bernardo.

According to reports, Celtic has not yet told Benfica whether they intend to sign Paulo Bernardo to a long-term contract.

The midfield player’s season-long loan from the Lisbon giants is almost over, but according to a clause in his contract, a £6 million offer would be sufficient to sign the 22-year-old Scottish Premiership champions for a long-term agreement. Record, a Portuguese publication, claims that the Hoops are not in a rush to finalize the agreement.

According to earlier reports, Celtic sought to negotiate a reduced price for the Portugal U21 cap so that he might return to Brendan Rodgers’ team the following season. However, it now seems that the two have stopped talking, with Bernardo’s long-term destiny being “still unknown”. Currently, negotiations to keep Bernardo in Glasgow’s east end have “gone quiet” and Celtic “have not indicated that they will trigger the purchase clause”.

After winning the championship, Celtic is assured Champions League football the following season, according to the article, which also suggests that the Parkhead transfer experts’ belief that “they can spend the money better elsewhere” may be the reason for the delay in negotiations. Because of Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate’s injuries, Bernardo had a successful spell in the starting lineup.

Since then, Rodgers has mostly used him as a stand-in. Only six more appearances for the Hoops have Bernardo made since his last start against St Johnstone in March.

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