There has been some concern from sections of the Celtic fanbase in recent weeks about the role that Paulo Bernardo is going to play for Brendan Rodgers this season.
The Portugal U21 international has been an unused substitute in both of the club’s Scottish Premiership matches so far this term, with Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren, Arne Engels, and Luke McCowan all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Bernardo played 28 times in the league for the Hoops in the 2024/25 campaign, but only started 13 of those matches, and produced two goals and three assists, per Sofascore.
Rodgers has seemingly decided that he is his last option in the middle of the park, though, as five other central midfielders have been used ahead of him in the opening two matches.
Celtic told asking price for midfield target
It could get even worse for Bernardo before the end of the summer transfer window, as the Hoops appear to be looking at signing another player in his position.
According to Claret & Hugh, West Ham United central midfielder Andy Irving is a target for Celtic, as they look to further bolster their options in the coming weeks.
The report claims that the Scotland international is not going to get regular football under Graham Potter at the London Stadium, and is on an unofficial transfer list for the Hammers.
It adds, though, that the Hoops will have to pay a fee of around £3.5m to land a deal for the left-footed maestro, who they have already turned down a bid of £2.2m for this summer.
Celtic now have to decide whether or not they want to splash the cash to bring the Scottish midfielder to Parkhead before the end of the window.
Why this is bad news for Paulo Bernardo
The news of the club’s interest in Irving, and the relatively reasonable asking price, will come as bad news to Bernardo because the arrival of another midfielder would send him even further down the pecking order.
It seems unlikely that the Hoops would want to bring in another midfielder, much less one for £3.5m, if they did not plan for the player to play a key role in the side, which means that they would be signed with the view to playing instead of the Portuguese star.
This means that the arrival of Irving could leave Bernardo as the seventh choice central midfielder for the Hoops, meaning that he would not even make the starting line-up if Rodgers switched his midfield three up completely.
|
Andy Irving (Austrian Bundesliga) |
22/23 |
23/24 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
31 |
28 |
|
Goals |
5 |
9 |
|
Big chances missed |
0 |
1 |
|
Big chances created |
10 |
7 |
|
Key passes per game |
1.4 |
1.2 |
|
Assists |
6 |
4 |
As you can see in the table above, Irving played regularly in Austria in the two seasons before the 2024/25 campaign, when he only started one game for West Ham in the Premier League, as per Sofascore.
These statistics suggest that the Scottish midfielder could provide a big threat at the top end of the pitch from the middle of the park as both a scorer and a creator of goals for his side when given the chance to play week-in-week-out.
The 25-year-old, whose football journey was described as “fascinating” by reporter Barry Anderson, could be an exciting addition to the squad as a homegrown, Scottish, talent who could provide quality depth behind the starters.
However, not everyone would be delighted by his arrival at Parkhead because it could force Bernardo to consider his short-term future at Parkhead with the summer transfer window due to close at the start of next month.
The former Benfica starlet will not want to be the seventh choice in midfield for the 2025/26 campaign, as it may see him rarely feature on the pitch, and that is why the possible signing of Irving could result in the Portuguese talent moving on from Celtic.
