The agent of Luis Palma has opened up on a very difficult summer deal that was concluded by Celtic.
The Hoops eventually sealed a deal for the Honduran international to move from Aris Thessaloniki in the final days of the summer window.
Palma arrived to fill the void left by Celtic hero Jota following his move to Saudi Arabia. The Portuguese attacker signed for Al-Ittihad in early July while Palma didn’t arrive until eight weeks later.
It was a frustrating old period for the Hoops support. But now his agent Paulo Hernandez — who also represented Emilio Izaguirre — may have indicated why the wait was so long. It seems like the deal for Palma was an immensely challenging one.
“Luis’s was frankly complex,” Hernandez told Honduran outlet Diez.
“He belonged to a team where the president negotiates in a particular way, long contract, he had the strength to be able to retain their player. Fortunately, Celtic came with a lot of interest and a lot of strength for Luis and the arrangement was made.
“But I tell you that the operation was fallen, lifted, fallen, lifted and we were easily 12 fighting it. It happened in part because of the player’s intention to go to Scotland and not listen to other offers, and the people of Vida [Palma’s old club] and their president Luis Cruz to whom I have a lot of respect and gratitude for helping the player.
“I also can’t forget that I understand in part the president of Aris, that he was the one who bet on Luis Palma when he came from Honduras, from a small team, took the risk and was right to demand what he thought had to be demanded for Palma because he was the only one who took the risk at the time.”
Hernandez wouldn’t reveal exactly how much Palma cost us. But he did say it was between two and ten million euros. That narrows it down I guess.
Who knows, maybe I’m letting Celtic a little out of jail here. But if the move for Palma was genuinely quite a complex one, then that perhaps does explain why we were all waiting for so long. At the very least it must have played some part in the wait for Jota’s replacement.
It reflects well on the player that he was so keen to come here and not listen to other offers. To be fair, he’s been a breath of fresh air ever since touching down in Scotland.
I’ll admit that I still have a few reservations about his pace, or lack of it, at the top level. But he certainly has some great technique and a real eye for goal, which is vital given how often Jota contributed in that regard.
Hopefully, we can continue to see him grow after the international break. If he does then he’ll be a very important player for us.
In other news, Gustaf Lagerbielke reacts to a slightly concerning picture forming for him at Celtic
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