Celtic made several additions to their squad in the summer transfer window. Overall, they brought in twelve players, with ten arriving on permanent basis while two are loan although an option to buy is present in both of their deals with the Hoops. But it is clear that they need to make more additions in January and they could pull off a transfer masterstroke by making a move for the £3.6 million-rated player.
One of the areas that the Hoops appear to be very light in at the moment is midfield, particularly defensive midfield. Ismaila Soro, James McCarthy and Nir Bitton are three players who can play there but none of them have managed to nail down their spot in Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI.
At the moment, Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and David Turnbull appears to be the midfield combination that the manager prefers. None of them are natural defensive midfielders though.
Bringing one in could allow McGregor to move a bit further up the pitch and be more effective in attack as well, while adding more balance to the team. And one player they are being linked with is Gremio’s Fernando Henrique.
Signing Henrique could prove to be a transfer masterstroke on the part of Celtic
Henrique is a very highly-rated Brazilian midfielder currently playing for Gremio. It is believed that it could require a transfer fee of around £3.6 million to bring him to Celtic.
Now, the 20-year-old has not played a lot of football at the senior level yet and is a bit unproven. Also, if such a move was to take place, it would be his first experience in Europe.
Thus, there will be an element of risk without any doubt. But it goes without saying that there is some definite potential in Henrique. The defensive side of his game is solid although like Soro, he appears to receive yellow cards frequently, which is an area that he needs to work in. His passing range also looks very good and he can unlock a defence from time to time with a deep ball from midfield. He also been rumoured with a possible with the City Group.
Thus, someone like him could prove to be a terrific addition to this Celtic squad if he can make the adjustment and find his feet in Scottish football.