Midfielder has played just 11 mins since £3.3m Celtic deal broke down

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There was a surprise inclusion in the Gremio squad for the 3-0 midweek win over Sport Recife. Fernando Henrique, for the first time since his 11 minute cameo off the bench in May, had a place on the bench, returning to the matchday squad after four months away.

That, however, was as good as it got. Henrique could have doubled his appearance tally for the whole campaign against Sport Recife. Instead, he is still awaiting his second outing of the season in Brazil’s second tier, featuring in just one of a potential 31 matches over the last five months.

To think, Henrique could have been playing Champions League football with Celtic instead. The Glasgow giants, during Ange Postecoglou’s first few months at the helm, held talks with the 21-year-old ball-winner (Globo Esporte). 

Celtic were reportedly willing to invest £3.3 million to secure Henrique’s signature. A representative working on behalf of the Scottish Premiership giants was even sent to Brazil in order to conduct negotiations with the Gremio board.

And Henrique, an energetic, tigerish defensive midfielder who models his game on Real Madrid legend Casemiro, would have been a popular addition to Postecoglou’s squad at the time. Especially with Celtic conceding goals at an alarming rate before that post-Christmas turnaround. 

Celtic held talks to sign Fernando Henrique from Brazilian outfit Gremio

“Since I started playing, (my inspiration has been) Casemiro. I’ve always been inspired by his football; good marking, good passing, long balls,” Henrique explains.

Obviously inspired by Kyogo Furuhashi’s immediate impact in Glasgow, Postecoglou opted instead to conduct his business in a market the Aussie boss knows like the back of his hand. Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi followed Kyogo from Far East to Parkhead in the winter. The Japanese duo joined for a combined fee of just over £2 million; around £1.3 million less than Celtic would have had to splash out for Henrique. 

And, while injuries have limited Yosuke’s impact, few would argue that the masterful Hatate has been anything other than excellent value for money. Particularly on the back of those sparkling Champions League performances against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk. 

Gremio, meanwhile, would surely bite your hand off for £3.3 million these days.