Celtic are now in talks over selling a defender this January, with the negotiations now in full swing, according to a report.
Celtic competing on all fronts
The Hoops picked up their first piece of silverware this season after defeating Rangers in the League Cup final last week, and Brendan Rodgers’ side are also faring very well in the league, currently top of the Scottish Premiership table.
As such, there is seemingly not a pressing need for Rodgers to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window, but there are signs the manager could be busy this winter, given that a number of players have been linked with moves to Parkhead.
Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney is the latest player to be touted for a move to his former club, and Rodgers refused to rule out a reunion with the left-back in a recent interview, saying: “We’ll always be linked with top players and especially players that are one of us. Kieran was an instrumental part of a really, really successful period when I was here.
“His talents then took him to another challenge but we’ll be linked with lots of names and with Kieran naturally because of his situation. But we’ll only talk about a player once he’s signed.
There may also be some departures this January, perhaps to fund Celtic’s own transfer business, and it has now been reported they are in talks with Internacional over selling Alexandro Bernabei permanently.
Internacional president Alessandro Barcellos has confirmed that negotiations are in full swing, with the Hoops willing to lower the asking price to €5m (£4.1m) to facilitate the move, while also asking for a percentage of any future sale.
As such, Bernabei clearly does not feature in Rodgers’ plans going forward, and a permanent move to Brazil in January seems to be a likely scenario.
Good decision for all parties
The Argentine never managed to cement himself in the Celtic starting XI, but he has clearly impressed on loan at Internacional, given that they are determined to make his loan move permanent.
The 21-year-old is said to have “shone” in the Brazilian league, so Internacional is evidently a better fit for him than Celtic.
With the Hoops faring very well in Bernabei’s absence, it makes sense to sanction his departure for £4.1m this winter, and Rodgers can use the money raised to strengthen his side in other areas.
