Opinion: Why Luis Palma’s time at Celtic is coming to an end

Michael Beale was right about next to nothing during his time in Glasgow, but not signing Luis Palma is something he won’t regret…

Luis Palma against Dundee
30th October 2024 Celtic Park, Scottish Premiership Celtic versus Dundee Luis Palma of Celtic hits a pass while Ethan Ingram of Dundee tries to close him down Photo: ActionPlus David Young

Palma’s performance against Dundee epitomised his Celtic career so far. His ponderous play followed by lacking any real confidence or quality in the final third resulted in the Honduran being hooked after 57 minutes.

Rodgers rang the changes

Brendan Rodgers rang the changes and rotated the side on Wednesday evening. First team regulars Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and Liam Scales were all absent from the starting XI. This allowed fringe stars such as Luis Palma, Yang and Tony Ralston to be given an opportunity in a testing environment against an underperforming Dundee side.

Notably, the lack of real belief in Palma’s game was concerning. No disrespect to Tony Docherty’s right-back Ethan Ingram, but it’s not as if Celtic’s forgotten winger was up against Dani Carvajal. The manager gave him a chance on Wednesday night and once again Palma failed to grasp it.

Luis Palma in action against Dundee
30th October 2024; Celtic versus Dundee; Lyall Cameron of Dundee shields the ball from Luis Palma of Celtic. Photo ActionPlus David Young

Meanwhile, it was only a year ago last week the 24 year-old produced a stunning strike versus Atletico Madrid in the Champions League which put the Hoops ahead in a memorable European encounter with the Spanish giants which feels like a lifetime ago.

A downwards trend for Palma

Since then, it has been a downwards trend for Palma. The most damning analysis of his performance against Dundee is that it looked very Mikey Johnston esque. He does not get you off your seat the way a Nicolas Kuhn or Daizen Maeda does. Nor has Palma got a distinct attribute that he can turn too. Lacks any real pace, and his cutting inside becomes very predictable after the third time he attempts to do it.

Bought from Greek side Aris Thessaloniki for £4 million last summer, the Honduran signed a five-year contract with the Scottish Champions. Subsequently, it may prove difficult to offload Palma who turns 25 in January. Most certainly it is time Celtic look elsewhere with a winger surely becoming a priority for the next transfer window.

Luis Palma after scoring the winner
Mid-Season Friendly, Showgrounds, Sligo 9/10/2024 Sligo Rovers vs Celtic Celtic’s Luis Palma is congratulated by teammates after scoring his side’s third goal of the match Luis Palma is congratulated by teammates after scoring his side’s third goal of the match 9/10/2024 Photo INPHO/Tom Maher

A hat-trick against Sligo Rovers

Unfortunately for the out of favour wide man, his fate at the Hoops seems to be sealed. Despite scoring a hat-trick against Sligo Rovers in a friendly two weeks ago, Palma has mustered up nothing domestically of note during his poor spell in Glasgow. Despite featuring in Bergamo for a surprise substitute appearance, if Rodgers thinks he is unreliable to use domestically, how can he trust him to produce any quality where it matters at the elite level in the Champions League?

Luis Palma with the match ball in Sligo
Mid-Season Friendly, Showgrounds, Sligo 9/10/2024 Sligo Rovers vs Celtic Celtic s Luis Palma celebrates with the match ball after scoring a hat trick Luis Palma celebrates with the match ball after scoring a hat trick 9/10/2024 Photo :INPHO/Tom Maher

The best solution is that Celtic cut their losses and sign a better winger. The squad is in a strong place, but there are still certain members of it that do not add any sort of quality on the pitch. Palma, I think is one of those. For that reason, the club should attempt to part ways in January.

Conor Spence

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About Author

A current third year student studying History and Journalism, Media and Communications at the University of Strathclyde and now writing regularly about the Hoops for The Celtic Star.

3 Comments

  1. Hear hear. When he is on corner duty he tries EVERY time to score when centre backs etc are awaiting a cross, its not as if hes ever looked like scoring from corners!!! He plays for team Palma and not team Celtic

  2. Sadly its a downward trend I’ve been waiting to see abated in some fashion since the summer friendlies, but with no joy.
    Palma is NOT a bad footballer. But if we can’t shift him on, and he’s in the squad through this season (at least) then he’s never going to thrive in this system until he
    1) Gets some belief back
    2) Improves his decision making and
    3) Gets his backside in gear.
    The only thing I can think in the medium term, if we need to hold onto him, is that he gets coached and helped to get his belief back. The rest is up to him.
    He’s had enough chances to demonstrate his ability on the pitch – we’ve all seen him do it! Jamesey has a year left. Yang has a bit of fizz, if a bit raw. Right now Palma is 5th choice winger by a distance, which must be as disappointing for him as for everyone else.
    “Any offer considered” springs to mind right now.

  3. January looks like being a very tricky window to negotiate by the looks of things?
    We still have 2 CL matches to play at the back end of January?
    Along with only allowed to make 3 changes to our original 25man squad?
    So as much as I would agree that another wide player is hopefully added to the squad, there may only be a couple of days available to do so? Which will possibly depend upon where we are within the CL group, the SPFL title race, along with the health of the squad?
    So potentially still opportunities to see if yang and Palma can show there worth to our squad, for the remainder of the season?
    Palma maybe our latest scapegoat within the squad at present, but we may well have to depend upon him also, over the next couple of months of the season?
    The potential deal that should be considered early in January, is offloading rocki, and replacing him in the squad with another midfield player, as a priority imo?