Celtic loanee Odin Thiago Holm finally made his long-anticipated debut for Los Angeles FC on Saturday evening…
The Norwegian midfielder, once seen as a promising talent at Celtic Park, signed with the MLS side on a one-year loan over two months ago.
Holm can on with three minutes to play
Holm sat out the start of the MLS season and spent most of it on the sidelines, but he finally made his LAFC debut in front of a packed Mercy Park arena in Kansas City. The 22-year-old came on for the final three minutes of LAFC’s 2-0 away victory over Sporting Kansas City.
LAFC are currently second in the MLS Western Conference and will travel to San Diego next weekend, where Holm will aim to gain more playing time.
Holm will be in the States until the end of 2025
The central midfielder signed with Celtic from Valerenga in his native Norway during the summer of 2023. However, he struggled for consistency in his first season in Glasgow’s east end and was deemed surplus to requirements during the January transfer window.
Holm is set to return to Celtic at the end of the calendar year, coinciding with the conclusion of the MLS season.
At the start of the current campaign, Brendan Rodgers spoke about Holm and Bosun Lawal, who has since moved on permanently from Celtic, saying: “I think the two boys [Lawal and Holm] have talent. But I want more. A lot more. Talent is just not enough. You can play in teams, but not in our team.”
It’s hard to see Holm having a future at Celtic under Brendan Rodgers. He’s another signing who arrived at the club just as Brendan was coming back but he had no say in the signing. Most of those players have been surplus to requirements for the Celtic manager and Holm clearly falls into that category.
Conor Spence
In any appearances Holm made, you could see he was a great prospect – neat and tidy on the ball and his passing quick and accurate – so whatever it is that Rodgers has seen n training which led to him being frozen out is such a shame. Perhaps his attitude isn’t quite right but he’s young and hopefully still has a bright future with us.
It’s intriguing to see Odin Thiago Holm finally make his debut for LAFC after such a prolonged wait. While his three minutes on the pitch were far from game-changing, they might mark the start of a much-needed turning point in his career. The bigger question is whether Holm can adapt and prove himself in the MLS, especially given Brendan Rodgers’ clear lack of faith in his abilities at Celtic. Could this loan spell be Holm’s last chance to reignite his potential, or is his future outside of high-level football altogether?