Lanus left-back Alexandro Bernabei joins Celtic in a deal worth £3.75m; he is the club's third summer signing; goalkeeper Ben Siegrist joined from Dundee United with Cameron Carter-Vickers making his loan move from Tottenham permanent
Thursday 30 June 2022 20:08, UK
Celtic have signed Argentinian left-back Alexandro Bernabei on a five-year contract.
The 21-year-old moves to the Scottish champions from Lanus in his homeland's top division for a fee reported to be £3.75 million.
The Argentina U23 international is relishing the chance to realise his dream of playing in Europe.
"I'm very happy to be here and I feel grateful to the club for giving me this opportunity," he told Celtic TV.
"I feel proud to be playing in Europe because it was one of my dreams and I'm excited to train with and play with my new team-mates.
"The stadium is just incredible. The people, the club, team-mates, and the coaching staff are all incredible.
"I'm very excited and happy and I can't wait to be playing in the Champions League. I've heard that the people are crazy, so I can't wait to sense that feeling and emotion in Celtic Park."
Bernabei will become the first player from Argentina to play for Celtic.
"I spoke to the manager and he said he believed in me and my quality and that I can adapt to the team quickly," he said of his conversations with boss Ange Postecoglou.
"This is my first time in Scotland and Glasgow and I've seen the city on the internet and it looks very beautiful, so I'm excited to be able to get to know it more.
"The objective is to become champion and we want to achieve big things as a club and I would like to achieve all of our objectives this year."
Bernabei is the second new face to arrive at Celtic Park this summer following the signing of goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist, while defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, who shone on loan last term, has joined permanently from Tottenham. Daizen Maeda's move from Yokohama F. Marinos has also been made permanent.
South American football expert Tim Vickery on Lanus left-back Alexandro Bernabei:
"They are obviously looking at Argentine left-backs, they looked at Francisco Ortega of Velez Sarsfield, these are young, quick centre-backs.
"I have not seen Bernabei for a while, but what is interesting about him is the first time I was watching him he was playing higher up the field as a left winger.
"He has got that capacity to get into the penalty area and score goals. nice left foot, good with set pieces, quick, interesting.
"And again, you wonder if he is going to get rolled over physically, but this to me looks like an intelligent piece of scouting because I'm a sucker for a left foot, it just opens up the field so much if you have someone with a good left foot like he has."
Celtic begin their Scottish Premiership title defence at home to Aberdeen, live on Sky Sports, with the first Old Firm clash not scheduled until September.
Ange Postecoglou's champions kick off in front of the Sky cameras at 4.30pm on Sunday July 31.
Their first meeting with Rangers will be at Celtic Park on September 3, and Celtic start 2023 with a visit to Ibrox on January 2, before hosting their biggest rivals again on April 8 in their third-last game before the split.
Celtic's final game before the month-long break for the World Cup is at home to Ross County on November 12, and they return to action with a trip to Aberdeen on December 17.
Christmas Eve brings a home game against St Johnstone, and Postecoglou's side round off before the split with a trip to newly promoted Kilmarnock on April 15, before hosting Motherwell a week later on April 22.
Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
