Celtic were genuinely hopeful of bringing former Inter Milan, Juventus and Brazil midfielder Hernanes to the Scottish Premiership in 2016.
Brendan Rodgers is nothing if not ambitious. And that is perhaps the perfect word to describe Celtic’s reported interest in Brazilian international midfielder Hernanes back in the summer of 2016.
Calciomercato reported at the time that Celtic had opened talks to bring the Juventus midfielder to Glasgow in what would have been one of the most eye-catching and high-profile Scottish Premiership signings in many a year.
After all, this was a man who had played European football for Lazio, Inter Milan and Juventus as well as winning the Brazilian Footballer of the Year award in 2008. As soon as Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune came calling, however, and put a rather substantial wad of cash on the table, Celtic were blown out of the water.
Like so many big-name stars who swapped their reputation for hard dough in the Far East, Hernanes did not last long in China and returned to Brazil with Sao Paulo, the club where it all began, in July. And a player who was supposedly ‘finished’ at Juve has been reborn in the South Eastern metropolis.
Form of his life
Hernanes has played 10 games for Sao Paulo and scored seven times. And that’s without mentioning the five Man of the Match awards given out by WhoScored.
You wonder what sort of impact the 32-year-old could have had in Scotland, therefore. Perhaps Hernanes’ remarkable revival is due to the fact he is comfortable, happy and confident playing in familiar surrounds with an adoring public after becoming something of a scapegoat during his time with Juve.
Whether Hernanes would make made the same impression in Celtic colours is up for debate. However, he is a player with undoubted class that could have enhanced the reputation of Scottish football no end.
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