Alexandro Bernabei: Sharing pitch in Japan with Reo Hatate helped enhance reputation which has earned him a move to Celtic

It was in March last year that Alexandro Bernabei may have appeared on Ange Postecoglou’s radar for the first time.

When Argentina travelled for two friendly matches against a Japan side including some of Postecoglou’s then players at Yokohama F Marinos, left-back Bernabei was rewarded for his increasingly impressive form at Lanus with a call-up to his country’s under-23 squad.

Bernabei appeared in both games, a 1-0 win in Tokyo followed by a 3-0 defeat in Fukuoka, as did Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate with whom he is now about to become a team-mate at Celtic.

The fee of around £3.5 million the Scottish champions are understood to be paying Lanus for Bernabei’s services is an investment in both the burgeoning credentials and rich potential of the 21-year-old.

Born in the commune of Correa in the Santa Fe province of Argentina, he travelled south to the suburbs of Buenos Aries to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional footballer when he joined the Lanus youth academy set-up.

In the summer of 2018, Bernabei received his first international recognition when he was named in the Argentina Under-18 squad for the South American Games in Bolivia. While silverware eluded him as Argentina lost 3-2 to Uruguay in the semi-finals and were then beaten 2-0 by Colombia in the third place play-off, Bernabei earned praise for his performances during the tournament.

He had to wait until October the following year to make his first team breakthrough for Lanus, marking the occasion in memorable fashion as he scored in a 4-2 league win away to Talleres at the Mario Kempes Stadium in Cordoba.

Deployed as an attacking left-sided midfielder in some of his early appearances, including a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors in his home debut, Bernabei