Portuguese newspaper A Bola today shares a story about Paulo Bernardo, who’s loaned by Benfica to Celtic until the end of the season.
To speak about the 22-year-old, they interviewed César Peixoto, who coached the player during his loan at Paços Ferreira in the first half of 2023, right before Brendan Rodgers’ side secured his signing.
The manager claims to have some credit for Bernardo’s evolution, claiming the Celtic player made a big improvement last year.
“Paulo was already an intelligent player, tactically developed, technically very strong, but he was also a player without acceleration or deceleration, without a change of speed, without the ideal reaction to losing the ball,” Peixoto told A Bola.
“I spoke to him about it and he immediately showed a willingness to work, realised it was important and evolved because he also wanted to evolve. And he changed his speed, he changed his reaction to losing the ball for the better, playing with much more aggression in duels with his opponents. These are things that players in big teams need.
“He left Paços de Ferreira much stronger from a psychological point of view, more of a player, more of a man, more experienced, more combative, more mature, more confident, stronger than when he arrived.”
“It was important to go to a team where he could play. Although he’s young, he’s not immature, he’s got quality and experience, he’s at a very high level and he’s succeeding.”
Benfica’s deal with Celtic does not include a buying option for the Glasgow side, but A Bola mentions the agreement as a great opportunity for the Eagles to make the sale.
The big reason for that is Jota’s transfer to the Hoops, as the Eagles first cashed in when selling him to the Scottish club and then with a percentage from his transfer to Al-Ittihad.
Since arriving at Celtic, Paulo Bernardo already has 19 appearances for the club, with three goals and two assists so far.
