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Chris Sutton wowed by Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo

Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo impressed heavily in the 3-0 win over Rangers last week at Parkhead in the SPFL clash. 

Chris Sutton was heavily impressed by the 22-year-old midfielder and has hailed him as “superb”.

Bernardo spent the last season at Celtic Park on loan and made quite an impression. The Hoops decided to sign him permanently from Benfica this summer, and the Portuguese midfielder has joined the Scottish champions on a five-year deal.

He started the match against Rangers and played until 62 minutes. The damage was all done by that time.

One of the highlighting features of the match was Celtic’s dominance in midfield. They not only created fantastic chances, but they pressed really well.

The BBC Sports pundit was impressed by Bernando’s defensive shifts and felt the Bhoys midfielder has all the tools to replace O’Riley.

Sutton wrote for the Daily Record: “Paulo Bernardo superb. Liam Scales outstanding. Greg Taylor terrific.

“But Bernardo sure laid out his claims in the Old Firm. He had previous by scoring and making goals in the fixture and he was magnificent for his hour on the park before his place was taken by the new Belgian.

“The Portuguese really mixed his game up. He did the hard yards and made the tackles as well as making the angles and passes.

“Bernardo said upon signing that he was after O’Riley’s shirt even if the Dane stayed and this was a polished performance which again suggests he’s got the tools.”

It will be interesting to see how new signings step up for Celtic this season.

The Hoops lost Matt O’Riley to Brighton this summer, and they replaced him by signing Arne Engels, who has become the club’s record signing.

The midfield areas have been further bolstered by the arrival of Dundee’s Luke McCowan, who joined on the transfer deadline day.

Rodgers made it clear that it won’t be easy to find a like-for-like replacement for O’Riley, but collectively, Celtic now have a better midfield set-up.

Bernardo will be the engine in midfield for Celtic this season, and he will be aiming to become one of the key players for the side. Having said that, there is fierce competition in the middle of the park, and very soon, Rodgers could have a selection headache, which is a healthy sign.

They have done fantastic business this summer. Adam Idah has joined permanently from Norwich City, while Alex Valle has arrived from Barcelona on loan.

The Bhoys have already taken a healthy five-point lead over Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

In other Celtic news, Simon Jordan and Graeme Souness clash on talkSPORT over “vast gap” arguments

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