Celtic have a couple of months left of the season before they have to turn their attention to the summer transfer window when it opens in June.
The Hoops still have the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup to play for before the end of the 2024/25 campaign, but they may already have one eye on the transfer window…
Celtic’s pursuit of Elvis Rexhbecaj
Earlier this week, it was reported that Celtic have enquired about the possibility of a deal to sign Augsburg central midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj ahead of next season.
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It was claimed that the Kosovo international is weighing up his future with the Bundesliga side and that the Hoops are one of a number of teams interested in signing him.
At the time of writing, Transfermarkt currently values the 27-year-old midfield star at around £3m, although it remains to be seen how much Augsburg would demand for his services this summer.
The Kosovan ace has a contract that is due to expire in the summer of 2026 and this means that the German outfit would have to sell him this year to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of next season.
Rexhbecaj, who scored his first goal for Kosovo against Iceland last week, has started all 20 of his appearances in the Bundesliga so far this season for Augsburg, winning 50% of his ground duels.
Despite the Celtic target being an experienced regular starter in one of Europe’s major leagues, Brendan Rodgers currently has another central midfielder who is already worth more than him – Paulo Bernardo.
The Celtic midfielder who is worth more than Rexhbecaj
The Portuguese starlet spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan from Benfica, producing four goals and three assists in 33 appearances in all competitions, before he completed a £3.5m permanent move to the club last summer.
Bernardo, who was once described as a “press-resistant” midfielder by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has taken a leap in his development as a player since he became a permanent Celtic player.
The 23-year-old has improved his performance levels, in and out of possession, in the Premiership to establish himself as an excellent option for Rodgers in the middle of the park when fit.
|
Paulo Bernardo (Premiership) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
22 |
22 |
|
Big chances created |
4 |
5 |
|
Assists |
3 |
3 |
|
Pass accuracy |
83% |
88% |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
1.4 |
2.1 |
|
Dribbled past per game |
0.6x |
0.3x |
|
Ground duel success rate |
49% |
58% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
42% |
54% |
As you can see in the table above, the young dynamo has been far better defensively this season, being dribbled past half as frequently and winning a far higher percentage of his duels on the deck and in the air.
Bernardo has also provided more creativity, despite being more efficient with his passes, and this suggests that he is not making as many mistakes with his passes as he did last term.
At the time of writing, Transfermarkt currently values the central midfielder at around £5m, which means that his value has already soared by roughly £1.5m since his summer move to Parkhead.
This shows that the Hoops have hit the jackpot with the Portuguese whiz because he is already more valuable than the experienced Bundesliga star they are reportedly interested in, and his value shows that he is an asset that is growing in value week-by-week.
Hopefully, Bernardo will continue to improve and shine on the pitch for Celtic to help his value soar by millions more in the weeks and months to come.
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