Despite Champions League snub, John Hartson still believes they have a great player who has a bright future ahead of them.
Brendan Rodgers has an abundance of talent at his disposal and choosing a 25-man squad for the Champions League was always going to be difficult.
Players that make it have six massive fixtures to look forward to and those that don’t, well, the usual speculation surrounding their futures at the club usually ensues.
But there is one player that didn’t get into the Champions League squad and, in fairness, since the emergence of Liam Scales this summer, questions have been levied recently as to whether his role is now under threat at Celtic.
Alexandro Bernabei was a £3.75m Ange Postecoglou signing last summer and has struggled to make any kind of impact at the club. Granted, the form of Greg Taylor has had a huge say in that but now, the emergence of Scales could place the Argentinian further down the pecking order.
But former Celtic hero, John Hartson, believes he still has a future at the club despite his omission from this seasons Champions League squad.
Hartson said [The Go Radio Football Show], “Yeah, I think he’s as good as [Greg] Taylor. I really do. But at this moment in time, Brendan probably feels there’s other areas that he needs to strengthen in terms of going into the Champions League, in terms of cover.
“I think he likes to get forward. I think his defending someone’s can improve but so does Taylor’s. I think Taylor’s better going forward than what he is defensively.
“I think he’s improved on his ball into the box, as has Taylor in the last couple of seasons. He’s been very constant in the team in terms of Celtic’s success.
“And listen, it’s only my opinion, but I think Bernabei has got a future. I think he’s a decent left-back. He likes a tackle. He can be aggressive. So you know, I think the fact that he’s got Taylor there with that bit a bit more experience in the last couple of seasons played in Europe, so he’s gone with Taylor.
“But we also know as well that Liam Scales can play left centre-back and obviously left back. But I do think Bernabei has got a future.”
Bernabei’s future does look ropey at the Hoops. Off-field issues marred the start of his Celtic career and has only made 21 appearances for the Hoops in just over a year.
After impressing during preseason, Bernabei may have thought this season could be the season he finally makes that left-back spot his own. But, as yet, he hasn’t had the opportunity to stake his claim on Greg Taylor’s jersey.
Hartson may well be correct. Bernabei might still have a future at the club but if wants to make his mark on this Celtic team, he will need to take his chance and take it well the next time an opportunity in the first-team comes up.
