Fans have been calling for more transfer activity from Celtic and these cries have gone into overdrive over the last few days after Celtic’s exit from the Viaplay Cup in the second round at the hands of Kilmarnock.
Recent reports from Stephen McGowan state that Celtic are in the market for a few more signings before the window slams shut, with Anthony Joseph honing in on Celtic looking at a new goalkeeper, left-back, left-winger and a centre forward.
These reports came accompanied by recent news that Luis Palma could be the left-winger that Celtic sign. Celtic have bid £3.5million for the Aris FC winger, a fee which isn’t believed to be far off the Greek sides’ valuation.
There seems a real belief that there is some substance to this move potentially coming to fruition, but why is that?
Wages ruling out other targets
Celtic have been linked with the likes of Daniel Podence and Ryan Fraser in recent weeks, both wingers and both playing in the English Premier League. Fans expected Brendan Rodgers to delve into the English market given his great knowledge of that particular field and his tendency to dip into the market down south in his first tenure at the club, plucking the likes of Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair for his team.
However, something felt off with the links to Podence and Fraser. Celtic would have struggled to acquire either of the pair’s services with wages being a stumbling block in both cases.
Celtic could have most definitely afforded both of the fees for the players but the all-too-familiar story preventing Celtic from shopping in the English Premier League, in recent years in particular, is the wages.
Both seemed like they could be good signings who could add something to the Celtic team but neither appeared to be realistic considerations.
But why is there a different feel to the Palma links?
Luis Palma may be a familiar name to those who cast a keen eye upon the Scottish football transfer rumour mill as the Honduran international was recently linked with Rangers early on in the summer.
The 23-year-old is averaging a goal contribution a game in Aris’s Europa Conference League Qualifying campaign where the Greek side fell short at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv.
Last season, domestically, he was averaging a goal contribution every 2nd game and the reason why this rumour has a different feel about it is that it feels exactly like the type of signing Celtic would make.
The 6-time Honduras cap fits Celtic’s signing philosophy in recent years far more than those linked before him and it isn’t unfamiliar for Celtic and Rangers to be looking at the same players.
A young player with a high ceiling and room for improvement is exactly the type of player Celtic should be looking at and there are no doubts that Palmas would be eager to make the jump to Champions League level.
Having deputised for Aris on the left-wing as well as as a centre-forward, Luis Palma could be a valuable addition to the Celtic squad and with the reasons outlined above taken into consideration, he could be a signing that we see sooner rather than later.
JAMES MCKENZIE
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