Bernabei and Haksabanovic earn Celtic glowing verdicts as attacking 'attraction' pays off

Ange Postecoglou is delighted to see exciting new recruits such as Alexandro Bernabei and Sead Haksabanovic take flight.

And the Celtic boss always knew it would happen because he didn’t have to drag them off aeroplanes and plunge them immediately on to football pitches. Unlike last season where he was forced to haul new faces off through passport control and straight into his team, Postecoglou has been able to take time with this term’s latest arrivals.

With established stars already in place, the manager has been able to give the likes of Bernabei, Haksabanovic and Aaron Mooy time. The benefits seem clear. The trio were all hugely impressive against Hibs last weekend and Postecoglou said: “Because of what happened last year, people probably expected us to throw new signings in straight off the plane again. But this season that was never the plan. I wanted to make sure we bedded them in properly, particularly Alexandro. The young Argentine has been outstanding in his two Premiership starts and the boss continued: “He is one we are really excited about.

“He is 21, it’s his first time out of Argentina and I didn’t want to throw him in and overwhelm him immediately. We see a really bright future for him and we wanted to integrate him slowly. Alexandro wants to learn and he has a real appetite for improvement. We have been able to be measured, but there was never any doubt in my mind that he could make an impact and you will see that from now on.

“We have also had the luxury of not needing to throw him in, as Greg Taylor has had an outstanding season. We have been able to ease Alexandro in gradually. I wanted to give him time because it is a big change for him, even with the language. That would be a challenge for any