Opinion

The noise about Luis Palma’s Celtic situation can be answered with a straightforward response

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Luis Palma’s Celtic situation has gained attention over the last few weeks as he finds himself with work to do to force his way back into Brendan Rodgers’ plans.

The Honduras international has been on the periphery for the Bhoys this season despite scoring ten times and laying on ten assists last term.

His reality is a hot topic with the international break in full flow. John Hartson had urged Luis Palma to work hard for his Celtic place amid stiff competition in the wide areas and his indifferent start.

He stated: “For Palma to stay at Celtic, he’s going to have to get his head down, train well, show the manager that he’s got the right attitude to get back into the side.”

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Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Honduras teammate Andy Najar thinks Palma shouldn’t ‘give up’ on his Celtic aspirations despite currently finding himself out of the picture.

Despite starting his Bhoys career well, it hasn’t been an easy few months for the 24-year-old, but there is only one solution to calm the noise.

Luis Palma’s Celtic fixture pile-up opportunity

Thinking back to last month, Palma didn’t set the heather alight for Celtic against Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup, his only start to date this season.

However, Brendan Rodgers will need to juggle domestic endeavours and the Bhoys’ remaining six Champions League league phase fixtures over the next few months, so there may be some room for manoeuvre.

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Realistically, fixtures after European clashes may be the best time to introduce fresh legs, which may mean Palma finally gets his shot to impress this term.

The form of Nicolas Kuhn, alongside Daizen Maeda’s continued importance for the Bhoys, has thrown obstacles in the way for others vying for game-time.

Nevertheless, Palma is willing to stay patient for his Celtic opening, as he said last month: “I was injured in the first game of the season and you have to take that into account. It has taken me a while to get back and my Celtic team-mates are doing really well. I just have to wait for the opportunity.”

Celtic showed faith in Luis Palma during the summer

Despite speculation over his standing at the club, Celtic rejected approaches for Palma from Bundesliga and Ligue 1 sides during the summer window.

While he continues to plot a route back into the reckoning, it wouldn’t be fair to cast aspersions on someone too much when the Bhoys did show faith by keeping him around when they had the opportunity to offload.

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Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Contrariwise, there is a wider acknowledgement that he needs to seize any openings to ensure the club doesn’t consider cutting ties in January or moving for a replacement.

The next few weeks will give a firmer indication of the type of future Palma may have at Celtic across the long-term.