THE FAB GRAB
Celtic launch £3m chase for Brazilian defender Bruno EXCLUSIVE
CELTIC are pursuing a deal to land Brazilian central defender Fabricio Bruno.
Reports in South America last night claimed the Parkhead side tested the water with a £3million offer for the 23-year-old last week.
His current club Cruzeiro confirmed the approach, manager Marcio Rodrigues saying: ‘This proposal came, yes, but it is not consistent with what we want. There was a little enquiry and they made a proposal, but it doesn’t come close to what we want.’
A target for Braga in the summer, Sportsmail understands the Scottish champions have watched Bruno (right) on multiple occasions, with positive reports landing on the desk of head of recruitment Nick Hammond.
Expected to return to the table with a new proposal, a loan deal with an option to buy later is also under consideration.
The recent appointment of a scout in South America has switched Celtic’s focus to spotting young South American prospects before European
rivals get there first. A bid of around £1.7m from Rangers’ Europa League last-32 opponents Braga was rejected in the last window when Cruzeiro accepted an offer for another defender instead.
It is understood 6ft 3ins Bruno holds a European Union passport, so would not require a work permit.
Meanwhile, Neil Lennon last night admitted he hopes Celtic can catch FC Copenhagen cold to progress to the last 16 of the Europa League.
The Parkhead club are used to tricky summer Champions League qualifiers when Scandinavian teams are already into their season but the Ladbrokes Premiership is yet to start.
However, when the Scottish champions travel to Denmark for the first leg on February 20, Stale Solbakken’s side will have played just once — a league match at Esbjerg — since the end of their country’s winter shutdown.
By contrast, before the first leg in Copenhagen, Celtic will have eight competitive matches under their belts after the Scottish shutdown, starting with an away Scottish Cup tie at Partick Thistle on January 18.
And Lennon is hoping that scheduling means his side will have more match sharpness than the Danish champions.
He said: ‘Copenhagen have their winter break and it’s quite a prolonged one. So that may work to our advantage, or it may go against us. We’ll just need to see nearer the time.
‘You are hoping they will be a little bit undercooked but you never know. But I think it’s a decent draw.
‘We have avoided the Champions League teams coming down into the Europa League and we’ve avoided what you would perceive as bigger clubs.
‘But Copenhagen is still a team with good European pedigree. It could have been better but it could have been worse.’
Lennon is delighted to have the second leg at Celtic Park on February 27. But he warned against complacency after the draw saw Celtic avoid big guns like Roma and Wolves.
‘If people have the idea that we are clear favourites, we have to shy away from that and just go and do a job,’ he added.
‘Copenhagen are a really good side, experienced in the Champions League and Europa League. While it’s a good draw, you can also perceive it as a dangerous one.
‘But, logistically, it’s a good draw. We don’t have to travel that far.
‘Hopefully, we will get a foothold in the tie over there before we bring them back here.
‘Ultimately, I think it’s psychologically really good to have the second leg at home. We have earned that by topping our group.
‘It’s been a good campaign so far and, hopefully, we can make further inroads.’
Should Celtic progress and Rangers beat Portuguese side Braga over two legs, there could be the prospect of an Old Firm Europa League last-16 two-legged tie on March 12 and 19.
If so, those games would take place either side of a Ladbrokes Premiership encounter between the two Glasgow titans at Ibrox on March 15.
‘It would be carnage,’ joked Lennon of the prospect of three Old Firm clashes in seven days. ‘I think I’d watch the games from Barbados!’
But Copenhagen fancy their chances of knocking out Celtic and are set to unleash 17-year-old Liverpool target Mohammed Daramy on the Scottish champions.
Currently sitting second in the Superliga table, behind leaders FC Midtjylland, Stolbakken’s men finished second in Group B — behind Malmo but ahead of Dynamo Kiev.
Copenhagen, who last made the Champions League group stage back in season 2016-17, going on to reach the last 16 of the Europa League that year, are through to the knockout phase of European football for the second time in three years.
And, according to central defender Andreas Bjelland, they head into their winter break with high hopes.
‘There is a real opportunity to go through,’ said the Danish international.
‘I wouldn’t claim to be a real expert on Scottish football or Celtic. But we definitely have a chance.’
Solbakken, who returned to Copenhagen for a second term as boss in 2013, said: ‘I think it’s a great draw for us — and we have a good chance to move on.
‘It’s an opponent who will excite our spectators. I rate our chances as 50-50.’