Fernando Henrique was left out of Gremio’s squad for the seventh league game in a row on Tuesday night as Scottish Premiership giants Celtic hold talks regarding a potential £3.3 million January deal.
If Henrique was hoping that the departure of veteran manager Luis Felipe Scolari earlier in October would represent something of a breakthrough moment for him at Gremio, it seems he was sadly mistaken.
It turns out the 20-year-old has found first-team opportunities even harder to come by under Scolari’s successor, Vagner Mancini.
The Brazil U20 international was nowhere to be seen as Gremio lost 2-0 away from home at Atletico Mineiro on Tuesday night – the seventh Serie A match in a row in which he was been omitted from the matchday squad.
In fact, Henrique has not been seen in league action since August, when he was handed a six-minute cameo off the bench during a victory over EC Bahia.
Is Fernando Henrique set to become Celtic’s first January signing?
From a Celtic perspective, here are two ways of looking at this.
Henrique’s lack of minutes may be a cause for concern among some sections of the Hoops support. After all, £3.3 million is a not insignificant sum of money for even one of Scotland’s biggest clubs, and that is a lot to pay for a man who has played just six minutes of football in the last three months.
On the other hand, it seems unlikely that Gremio would put up much of a fight or stand in Celtic’s way should an acceptable bid arrive for Henrique during the January transfer window.
Each and every Brazilian club has been hit hard by the after-effects of the COVID pandemic and a £3.3 million windfall would be a welcome boost to their coffers (ND Mais).
According to Radio Esportes, a representative working on behalf of Celtic has held talks with the Gremio board about a deal that will see Henrique swap Porto Alegre for Parkhead in early-2022.
A disciplined, deep-lying central midfielder who idolises Casemiro, it remains to be seen whether Henrique is an upgrade on the hard-running but often reckless Ismaila Soro in the number six role.
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