Celtic fans are already comparing reported £3m target with infamous Hoops flop

Neil Lennon's Scottish Premiership champions Celtic reportedly want to sign Brazilian defender Fabricio Bruno from Serie A outfit Cruzeiro.

The mere prospect of investing a hefty sum in a Brazilian defender has sent a shiver down the spines of Celtic fans up and down the land.

After all, the last Samba centre-back who pulled on the green and white Hoops went down in legend as one of, if not the, worst signing in the club’s entire history. The ill-fated John Barnes-Kenny Dalglish double act splashed out a staggering £5 million on the appropriately-named Rafael Scheidt in 1999 but, after just three league appearances and a dismal showing in a friendly against Bray Wanderers, the Brazil international was ushered hurriedly out of the door.

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Talks about nominative determinism.

And it has taken 20 long years for Celtic to brave signing another central defender from the nation which gave us Lucio, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.

According to Globo Esporte, the Scottish Premiership champions have made a bid of around £3 million for Cruzeiro’s 6ft 3ins stopper Fabricio Bruno.

Cruzeiro vice-president Marcio Rodrigues insists that Celtic will have to raise their bid to convince the Serie A strugglers to cash in on their prized asset. And while it is unfair to tar Bruno with the Scheidt brush, you can understand why the Green Brigade would be wary of the similarities.