Celtic have endured a curious few days of speculation after it was reported that the club were close to signing central midfielder Bobby Clark for a fee of £6 million.
It has been claimed that the Hoops are close to completing a deal for the 20-year-old RB Salzburg starlet, currently on loan at Derby County, in the January transfer window.
However, Brendan Rodgers was asked about the link ahead of the Dundee clash and said: “I wouldn’t normally say anything about anything, but I really don’t know where it comes from at all. Especially in October.”
Although it appears the Clark link was far from the case, it wasn’t a complete surprise to see a central midfield link, given Reo Hatate’s form has declined this season.
Why Reo Hatate’s form is a concern for Celtic
The Japan international was influential in midfield last season with a return of ten goals and 14 “big chances” created in 37 outings in the Scottish Premiership, according to Sofascore.
Hatate has posed a constant threat both as a goalscorer and goal creator, but that hasn’t been the case for him in the 2025/26 campaign so far.
The 27-year-old star scored a goal, created a “big chance” and failed to register an assist in six Premiership appearances, according to Sofascore, with Celtic failing to score in four of their last nine games in all competitions.
Rodgers needs more from his midfielders from an attacking point of view, due to Hatate’s worrying form, but signing Bobby Clark should not be the answer, as Paulo Bernardo is an even better option than him.
Why Celtic should release Paulo Bernardo
The Portuguese U21 international has the quality to be the club’s next version of Hatate in the middle of the park, as a central midfielder capable of scoring and creating goals for the team.
Clark, meanwhile, has no goals or assists in nine appearances for Derby in the league, according to Sofascore, after returning one goal and no assists in 17 Austrian Bundesliga matches for Salzburg in the 2024/25 campaign.
These statistics do not suggest that the England starlet would arrive at Parkhead to provide the goals and assists that the Hoops currently lack in midfield.
|
Paulo Bernardo (Prime Minister) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|---|---|---|
|
Begin |
11 |
13 |
|
Goals |
3 |
2 |
|
Conversion rate |
10% |
8% |
|
Key passes |
11 |
31 |
|
Big chances created |
4 |
5 |
|
Aids |
3 |
3 |
|
Statistics via Sofascore |
||
However, as you can see in the table above, Bernardo’s form in his first two full Premiership seasons with the club suggests he has the potential to offer quality in the final third.
The Portuguese genius, hailed as “tenacious” by Rodgers, has scored five goals and created nine “big chances” in 24 Premiership starts over those two campaigns, which is a pretty impressive result for a player who hasn’t played week in, week out.
His Premiership statistics show he is a better central midfield option than Clark, who has failed to make a big impact high up the pitch at Salzburg or Derby in the last 18 months, since leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2024.
Unfortunately, Rodgers has only given Bernardo two appearances and one start in the Premiership this season, meaning he hasn’t had many opportunities to show his quality in midfield.
Given Hatate’s dip in form, the Celtic manager should look to release the Portuguese talent in the coming weeks as he has the attacking potential to be the club’s next version of the Hatate they had in the middle of the park last season.
