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Alexandro Bernabei could return to Celtic as a man in demand after his impressive loan stint with Internacional saw him named in the Brazilian FA’s Team of the Year.
Bernabei has been out on loan since March this year and was a key figure as Internacional secured a fifth-placed finish in the Brazilian top flight.
His performances have earned rave reviews, with some reports claiming that he could well be poised for a call-up to the Argentinian national side.
Signed for a fee of around £3.75million back in 2022, Bernabei never hit the heights during his time in Glasgow.
An attacking left-back, he failed to oust Greg Taylor from the team and fell more and more out of favour under Ange Postecoglou and latterly Brendan Rodgers.
But Bernabei’s form in Brazil should be music to Celtic’s ears. Even if he doesn’t have a future at the club, Celtic should still be able to make a decent profit on him.
Alexandro Bernabei competes with Flamengo’s Gonzalo Plato while on loan at Internacional
Bernabei has made only 28 appearances for Celtic but failed to secure first-pick status
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers will hope any sale of Bernabei can raise significant profits
HOWE FINALLY SET FOR PARKHEAD BOW
Celtic are set to host Newcastle United in Glasgow in a pre-season friendly in July.
And the game will finally see Eddie Howe take his place in the Parkhead technical area — four years after he turned down a chance to manage the Scottish champions.
Mail Sport understands that the English Premier League side will travel north to face Brendan Rodgers’ side on Saturday, July 19.
Celtic are weighing up offers to travel to Portugal and Ireland for pre-season. And Newcastle are likely to be one of the final warm-up games before the big kick-off for next season.
Magpies boss Howe plunged Celtic into turmoil in May 2021 when he turned down the chance to move to Glasgow, clearing the way for Ange Postecoglou to take charge instead.
Speaking recently on Mail Sport columnist Simon Jordan’s podcast, the St James’ Park boss refuted suggestions that he had ‘bottled’ the Parkhead post, insisting his decision was logistical.
‘Yeah, so during that period that I’d had out, I’d had a few job offers, but I’d said I’m not considering anything for a year.
‘That year had passed and Celtic came up and I was immediately attracted to the job. I thought, “Wow, what an opportunity. What a football club”.
Eddie Howe came close to taking the Celtic job before Ange Postecoglou’s appointment
‘Great people as well. The people I met were unbelievable. So there was no downside for me, but I had to get my staff together.
‘For me, if I was to go into a football club, I could have gone in on my own and worked with the staff that are there.
‘I felt I needed to go at my strongest. My strongest would have been with my team, so that’s Jason Tindall, Steven Purches, Simon Weatherstone and Dan Hodges. These are important people to me.
‘So I’d sort of made my decision. I was really keen to go. Jason had left Bournemouth, but I couldn’t get them together. I couldn’t get the team to all agree. And it wasn’t necessarily I needed every single one of them. But of course, that’s an important dynamic.
‘And I didn’t feel that was right for me to take the opportunity. In that moment it would have been wrong for Celtic as well, I think. So I declined the offer.’
The Newcastle boss was unwilling to move north without the likes of assistant Jason Tindall
MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE COFFEE STOP
The days of footballers retiring and sinking their savings into public houses seem to be over.
The modern trend seems to be more towards them investing in restaurants and coffee shops. Any Celtic fan who’s spending a few days in Zagreb this week might just get two examples for the price of one.
Right in the heart of the city is Boban’s – a delightful eatery owned by the former Dinamo Zagreb and AC Milan legend Zvonimir Boban.
A little more difficult to locate (but well worth the effort) is a coffee shop called Non Plus Ultra – translating as No Higher Point.
The man pouring the perfect cup of espresso? None other than former Parkhead striker Mark Viduka.
It’s on the northern side of the city, in the hills – as the name suggests. Tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic is among its regulars.
The former Australian international, who joined Celtic from Dinamo Zagreb in 1998, has never quite revealed why he briefly went AWOL shortly after moving to Glasgow.
For the cost of a taxi and a cappuccino, any Celtic supporter who remains intrigued by that strange episode might finally get their answer.
Mark Viduka relaxes in Zagreb close to the coffee shop he now runs
The Australian striker was a huge hit at Celtic, scoring 31 goals in 39 games for the club
COULD JAPANESE STAR PROVE TO BE THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY?
It wasn’t just the acquisition of the likes of Arne Engels and Adam Idah which made the summer transfer window the best in a very long time for Celtic.
The club also did well to move a number of fringe players on – and for decent money too.
Sead Haksabanovic, Oh Hyeon-gyu, Yuki Kobayashi and Mikey Johnston all had plenty of opportunities but never looked like they could cut it at Parkhead. Whatever they go on to achieve in their careers, the decisions to move them on were correct.
You wonder, though, if the club might eventually have a pang of regret at seeing Tomoki Iwata off the premises.
Tomoki Iwata has been central to Birmingham’s success in League One this season
The Japanese midfielder rarely started under Ange Postecoglou or Brendan Rodgers but always looked to have pedigree.
He’s been nothing short of a revelation since signing for Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee in the summer.
The 27-year-old already has six goals in 16 matches. He managed just one goal in 42 run-outs in green and white.
Iwata won the League One Player of the Month award for September, has been instrumental in taking the Blues up to third place, just one point off first, and is already a fans’ favourite.
Manager Chris Davies, who was Rodgers’ long-standing No 2, can hardly believe his luck.
Iwata has scored six goals in 16 games for the Blues, having managed only one in 42 at Celtic
HOTEL CHOICE LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED
Football teams tend to leave no stone unturned in their preparations for big matches.
The choice of hotels for away matches is a case in point. Seeking comfort, peace and quiet, staff are sent in advance to find the ones which tick all the boxes.
These tend to be just out of town, but still close enough to the stadium and away from any unnecessary distractions.
Given Zagreb is a city with a population of around 700,000 people, with a huge choice of hotels, the sight of the Scotland national team checking into the Westin in October was a little peculiar.
With a central location, the hotel was always going to be filled with supporters. While the team took over an entire floor and were not interrupted, it wasn’t ideal in terms of players or staff milling around as they pleased.
It was strange, then, to see Celtic’s official party check into the same hotel on Monday.
There were around 200 supporters in the Westin too. All of them were on their best behaviour but it did make the task of getting the players, the staff and all of the kit out to the bus before the game a little awkward.
There is, after all, a time and a place to mix and mingle with your fanbase,
Given how recently Scotland had been there, a phone call from Celtic Park to Hampden to find the lie of the land might have been wise.
Scotland supporters were typically colourful during their stay in Zagreb earlier this year
SADIKU CAN BE AN INSPIRATION FOR CELTS
Celtic women’s head coach Elena Sadiku was nominated last week for coach of the year at the 2024 FIFA Best Awards.
Elena Sadiku hopes to end a disappointing Champions League campaign on a high
Speaking ahead of her side’s clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, the 31-year-old Swede said of her nomination: ‘Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something because you’re young and female.’
She’ll be hoping her side, who have already been eliminated, are suitably inspired against the Spanish giants.
