Paulo Bernardo is Celtic transfer target with unlimited potential as Benfica mentor ranks golden boy with Joao Felix

The midfielder’s mentor has spoken in glowing terms about the man Celtic are believed to be after.

Renato Paiva saw them all come through the Benfica academy to become superstars.

Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Renato Sanches, Bernardo Silva, Helder Costa and Joao Felix to name just some over the course of his 18 years overseeing the development of young talent at a club that rivals Ajax as being among the best on the planet at producing world-class footballers. So when Paiva, now the head coach of Bahia in Brazil, casts his mind back over the kids he coached at Benfica’s incredible Seixal training campus and pinpoints Paulo Bernardo as the one whose potential has no limits, it’s worth taking his opinion seriously.

And when the possibility of this kid playing his football in Scotland with Celtic this season arises, Paiva’s comments on him should fill Parkhead fans with hope they will soon be witnessing someone pretty special from the same academy that gave the Jota. Bernardo, at 21, has already made 17 appearances for Benfica’s first team but after being farmed out to Pacos de Ferreira in the second half of last term, is not part of current boss Roger Schmidt’s plans for this season. The Portuguese giants – nicknames The Eagles – are, however, ready to sanction another loan deal for the player who is under contract until 2027 and is highly enough rated to have a £90million buyout clause built into it.

That’s way too rich for Celtic’s blood, clearly, but a loan deal with the guarantee of Champions League and the knowledge on Benfica’s side that Jota was brilliantly developed in Scotland, could persuade Estadio da Luz president Rui Costa – whose has seen Bernardo’s flamboyant attacking-midfield style compared to the talent he showed at AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund – Glasgow would be a suitable destination for their protege.

 

The youngster doesn’t shy away from the comparison – although his idol is former Argentina and Benfica midfielder Enzo Perez. But he accepts he is still at the start of a football journey, the next step of which could be taken in Scotland, although there is no shortage of interest in him across the continent.

“I do have some similarities with Rui Costa I suppose in style,” Bernardo said. “But you have to remember I am just taking my very first openings in football.

“My debut for Benfica for the first team was the first step and my dream is to one day play for Portugal at a World Cup. But I am only young. I want to play, have fun and work to get my opportunities.

“My hero and the player I base my game on was Enzo Perez, when he was at Benfica. I’d love to play in a role like him as a free attacking midfielder.”

Paiva reckons that wherever Bernardo ends up, he will shine as brightly as the name of the stadium he will leave behind. And that eventually, Benfica will make an absolute fortune on the boy he developed as a pre-teen into a budding superstar by impressing on him the need to add goals to his undoubted talent in the middle of the park.

“Paulo had a beautiful history with us,” Paiva said recently. “He was identified at Benfica as an elite midfielder, but I told him there was a difference between an elite midfielder and a high-quality midfielder, scoring goals.

“If he didn’t score goals, he would never become an elite midfielder. The truth is that Paulo, being the intelligent
kid that he is, knew how to listen, be patient and work accordingly.

“I left but I’m delighted whenever I see Paulo’s goals, because I remembered this story and he knows it’s true. What I can assess is Paulo’s potential and this is never-ending.

“And I said after leaving, Paulo could be the future biggest sale of Benfica. I see Paulo, with respect and affection to everyone else, this way.

“I said this in the past about Joao Felix, and now I’m saying this about Paulo. I feel he’s different. If he stays healthy, he will give a lot of sporting and financial income to Benfica.”

If Bernardo does find his way to Parkhead before the transfer window closes on Friday night, Paiva believes the Portugal U21 star will cope with anything that comes his way. He added: “Besides the quality he has, one fundamental thing is the mental aspect at this stage.

“Paulo is a super-reserved kid. I’ve already told him he must speak louder and more often, but I also think it helps him.

“He’s focused. On the field he changes and his football speaks for him and he’s becoming a leader. But outside it he’s a reserved kid, humble and very quiet, but focused on what he wants.

“He has everything to be an elite player, there are no extravagances or distractions. He’s highly intelligent, he knows what he wants, he knows how to listen, which is a great virtue. That’s how he got to where he has and how I think he will get to where he’s going.”