Celtic needed two late goals in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 win over Motherwell at Fir Park in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers brought Norwich City loanee Adam Idah on for Kyogo Furuhashi at half-time and the Ireland international scored twice put the Hoops in front, having been 1-0 down.
The 23-year-old marksman has already scored four goals in four league appearances for the club, and appears to be on course to become one of the manager's best signings of the season.
Most of the boss' key players – including Matt O'Riley, Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Kyogo Furuhashi – were brought to the club by his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian tactician rarely missed in the transfer market with some fantastic signings in his two years at the club, with O'Riley, Kyogo, and Jota among the most impressive moves.
However, Postecoglou did not always get it right and Argentine left-back Alexandro Bernabei is one example of that, as the flop has endured a tough time in Glasgow and is worse than current first-choice Greg Taylor.
How much Celtic paid for Alexandro Bernabei
The Scottish giants swooped to sign the defender from Lanus, in his home country, for a fee within the region of £3.75m in the summer of 2022.
Upon signing for the Hoops, Bernabei revealed that the manager had faith in him and his ability to adapt to life in Scotland quickly to make an impact on the pitch.
It was a significant fee to pay for a young left-back, particularly when you consider that the club paid £3m to sign Taylor from Kilmarnock back in 2019, who had yet to reach 100 first-team appearances.
The Argentina U23 international had played 88 senior games for Lanus prior to Celtic deciding that they wanted to bring him over to the Premiership.
He had established himself as a regular starter for his former club in the Liga Profesional during the 2021 campaign, though, with 23 league starts that year.
Appearances
24
Goals
Zero
Assists
Two
Dribbled past
34 times
Duel success rate
48%
Sofascore rating
6.64
As you can see in the table above, there were some warning signs for Celtic in his performances in his home country as opposition players found it a little bit too easy to get the better of him at times.
He was dribbled past 1.4 times per game and lost more than half of his physical duels across those 24 league outings throughout the 2021 season.
These statistics did not suggest that Bernabei was set to make a huge impact at the top end of the pitch as an attacking left-back, with a lack of goals and assists, or that he would be able to deal with the physicality of Scottish football.
Of course, the young full-back was signed at the age of 21 and Postecoglou may have viewed him as a long-term signing who could develop his game in and out of possession.
Alexandro Bernabei's Celtic career in numbers
It has not gone to plan for the now-23-year-old defender, though, as he has struggled badly in the Premiership and failed to establish himself as a regular option for either of his managers.
Postecoglou handed him 15 appearances and nine starts in the Scottish top-flight during the 2022/23 campaign as Taylor retained his place as the first-choice at left-back.
The Argentine dynamo did provide an attacking threat down the left flank with one goal and three assists in those nine league outings, which is a return of one assist every three starts on average.
However, Bernabei struggled out of possession as he failed to step up to the level of physicality required of a left-back in the Scottish league.
The 23-year-old dud lost 60% of his duels, including 63% of his battles on the deck, in his 15 Premiership appearances, which shows that opposition players found it far too easy to get the better of him.
He was also dribbled past 14 times and gave away a penalty in those nine starts as the young flop failed to provide a solid defensive presence at the back for Postecoglou.
Appearances
Eight
Starts
Three
Goals + assists
Zero
Dribbled past
Five times
Duel success rate
47%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Bernabei has also struggled to find his top form under Rodgers in the Premiership so far during the 2023/24 campaign.
The Argentine defender, who was recently criticised for his "weak" defensive work by ex-Hoops full-back Mark Wilson, has not offered much in an attacking sense and has still been poor off the ball as the opposition have got the better of him too easily.
Put simply, Postecoglou endured a rare transfer howler by signing him as he cost more than £750k more than Taylor, yet is worse than the Scotland international.
Greg Taylor's season in numbers
The former Kilmarnock star has been the first-choice option for Rodgers in the number three position and been an excellent performer for the Hoops.
Only Luis Palma (12) has created more 'big chances' for their teammates than Taylor (eight) in the Premiership so far this season, which highlights the impressive work the Scottish ace has done at the top end of the pitch.
The 26-year-old whiz, who has scored two goals, has produced 1.9 key passes per game and produced the assist for Idah's equaliser against Motherwell on Sunday with an excellent left-footed cross.
Defensively, Taylor has only been dribbled past 19 times in 24 league starts, which is less than once per start on average. Whereas, Bernabei has been dribbled past 19 times in 12 starts since the start of last season in the top-flight.
He has also won 54% of his duels on the ground in the Premiership this term, which shows that the current first-choice left-back can hold his own on the deck and deal with the physicality of the division.
Therefore, Taylor is a better option for Rodgers than Bernabei as opponents find it harder to dribble past him, win a lower percentage of their duels against him, and the Scottish gem has the quality to offer more in possession.
Therefore, Postecoglou had a howler with the signing of the Argentine dud as he cost more than the Scotland international, despite currently being worse than the ex-Killie ace.
