Celtic have finalised the permanent acquisition of Paulo Bernardo from Benfica, according to reports in Portugal.

The Scottish champions expressed a strong interest in re-signing the midfielder following his successful loan spell at Parkhead last season.

After approximately three weeks of negotiations, both clubs have reached an agreement.

Benfica will receive around three million euros for the transfer, while also retaining a significant portion of any future transfer fee if Bernardo is ever sold on.

The 22-year-old is expected to sign a five-year contract with Celtic. He will become the Hoops’ third summer signing after the arrivals of goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo. 

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An official announcement of the transfer is anticipated in the coming days, pending the completion of the necessary formalities.

This marks the end of Bernardo's fourteen-year association with Benfica, where he joined the youth ranks at just eight years old.

Despite being regarded as one of the standout talents from the Benfica youth academy and having been around the first team under coaches like Jorge Jesus, Nelson Verissimo and Roger Schmidt, he has yet to fully realise the high expectations placed upon him.

He got a taste of the lofty expectations at Celtic during his 33 appearances throughout the 2023/24 campaign and will now be eager to make his mark as a regular feature in Brendan Rodgers' starting XI this season.

Bernardo tasted both Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup success whilst on-loan.

Celtic are currently in the United States on their pre-season tour. They beat DC United 4-0 before following that up with an impressive 4-3 victory over Manchester City.  

Chelsea are up next on Saturday before the their league title defence begins at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday August 4.