Celtic and Benfica are two million euros apart from agreeing a deal over the transfer of Paulo Bernardo.
The midfielder had an effective but not spectacular loan spell with the SPFL champions last season with that deal believed to include an option to buy.
Bernardo has completed pre-season training with Benfica but was left out of the squad that last night beat Farense 5-0 in a pre-season friendly.
Celtic appear to be close to signing Kasper Schmeichel as Joe Hart’s successor but there is still negotiating to be done if he is to be joined by Bernardo.
At 8.06 on Saturday morning, Portuguese publisher Glorioso reported:
The central midfielder trained at Seixal, Paulo Bernardo , was not called up by Benfica for the match against Farense, which the Eagles won 5-0, last Friday, July 12, due to negotiations between Clube da Luz and Celtic for the young Portuguese player.
After a season on loan in Scotland, Celtic are looking to reach an agreement with Benfica for the player’s permanent signing, but the two clubs have yet to reach a consensus. The main difference between the two structures is the value of the deal.
Celtic are looking to complete the deal for a fee of around five million euros, but Rui Costa and the club’s structure are aiming for seven million euros, a figure that is much closer to the optional purchase clause included in the midfielder’s loan last season.
In the 2023/24 season, Paulo Bernardo – currently valued at €3.5 million – has played 33 games for Celtic: 22 in the National Championship, six in the Champions League and five in the Scottish Cup. In total, the midfielder trained at Benfica has scored four goals and made three assists.
For Benfica , where the midfielder completed his entire training process, Paulo Bernardo played 26 matches and registered one assist, 24 of which were in the 2021/2022 season. Before the loan to Celtic, the footballer spent six months at Paços de Ferreira, where he played 13 games, scored two goals and provided two assists.
Having agreed a deal for Jota two years ago that worked out perfectly for all parties it shouldn’t be beyond Celtic and Benfica to compromise to a six million euros transfer fee which works at around £5m.
Two weeks ago a report claimed that Bernardo was holding a deal up over personal terms but that seems to be completey ignored in the report above with the stand off wholly down to the upfront transfer fee.
There are various ways to work out any sell-on value but that will only come into play if Bernardo makes a big impact at Celtic, with his career stalled at Benfica a move would appear to be in everyone’s interest.
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