Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo sealed a permanent transfer to Glasgow this summer.
The 22-year-old’s £3.5m switch was long in the making but it took until the 1st of August for things to be finalised and the transfer to be formally announced.
Since then, Bernardo has made his way into the Celtic team. He started last weekend against St. Mirren amid Matt O’Riley’s move to Brighton.
The Portuguese under-21 internationalist will likely get the nod again in today’s Glasgow derby as he continues to take the reigns from O’Riley, who he has hailed as his biggest ‘inspiration’.
The Dane was incredible last year, and Bernardo wants to emulate such form now that he is a permanent bhoy.
“Yeah, Matt O’Riley was an example for me”, he said (The Celtic Way).
“He was very good last season. He’s a bit of an inspiration too because I think he was the best player for Celtic last season and the numbers show that. He was always doing his job. He’s an example for me.”
O’Riley scored 19 goals and assisted 18 in all competitions last term. He scooped Celtic’s in-house Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year, and Young Player of the Year awards to complete an impeccable campaign.
His move to Brighton came as no surprise, but the injury he sustained just minutes into his debut was horrendous. Bernardo hopes he can recover well.
“What happened to Matt was very bad for him”, quipped the former Benfica man.
“I hope that he gets better soon and can show his magic there again. It is not easy for him now, but he has a strong mentality and I think he will do very well in England.”
Celtic’s record departure, O’Riley earned the club a pretty penny when he departed for the south coast.
His move hasn’t gone as he would have planned, but there are no doubts that when he recovers from his surgery, he will take the English Premier League by storm.
