This hasn’t been a great 24 hours for Luis Palma. But let’s be clear—this doesn’t have to be the end for him. He had a nightmare game on Saturday, and his path back to the starting XI now looks extremely difficult. After all, he was already behind Maeda on the left, and now he’s behind Yang too. He did that to himself, and there’s no getting away from it.
With a Celtic squad this talented, every player must be at the top of their game at all times. If an opportunity comes your way, you need to grab it and hold on tight, because there’s no guarantee when—or if—you’ll get another.
Luis Palma started last season well. In fact, I wrote a piece on his early-season numbers, which were impressive enough that, had they been sustained over the campaign, he would have comfortably outperformed the player he was replacing—Jota. His hot streak included big moments in Europe, including the one that almost sealed a historic win against Atlético Madrid at Celtic Park. But it wasn’t to be, and his form nosedived. The moment Maeda regained fitness, the Japanese player took Palma’s spot and never looked back.
Palma is one of the signings from the last Mark Lawwell spree, and aside from that initial burst, he’s drifted in and out of the team. There have been flashes of genuine talent, moments where he looked the part, but there have also been games where he was completely invisible. Rodgers instantly spotted areas of his game that needed improvement and made it clear to him. Over the pre-season, there were signs that he was starting to get it together. Sure, he didn’t make the same massive strides that someone like Kyogo did, but there was a player there.
Unfortunately, Palma has failed to impress the fans—and likely the coaching staff too. Does this mean his time is up? Not necessarily.
While some fans think one bad performance will see him shipped out in January, it’s not that cut and dry. However, if Rodgers believes that even after a summer of work, Palma still doesn’t fit the team, then we’ll have no choice but to move him on.
Rodgers has consistently emphasised the attributes he wants in his Celtic players—pace and power. The problem for Palma is that he doesn’t appear to possess either. He’s not particularly fast, nor is he particularly strong. His technical ability, however, is not in doubt. It’s what allowed him to contribute goals and assists last season. But technique alone isn’t enough when you’re up against quicker, more physical defenders, which is what Palma faces every week in Scotland.
That doesn’t mean he can’t contribute.
If you put him in the right positions and give him the right service, he can still score and create. But when you compare him to the impact of our wide players on Sunday, it’s easy to see why Palma came up short. Yang was on the pitch for just five minutes before he took the ball wide, beat a man, and cut inside the box. That’s exactly what Rodgers wants his wide men to do. He wants them driving into the box, terrorising defenders, not staying out wide and sending crosses into a packed defence.
Falkirk managed to hold us for 65 minutes because our wide men stuck to the touchline, making it easy for them to defend. But the second we had players on the pitch who were willing to take them on directly, they collapsed.
Curiously, this is where Palma might still have a chance. Falkirk set up specifically to prevent crosses into the box, so their wide men pressed hard to stop our wingers. But when we play against teams that set up more narrowly and sit deep, players like Palma—who thrive on technical ability—could have more time and space to work their magic. Whether it’s taking a shot on goal or threading a killer pass, those games might be where Palma shines.
But he has to work harder. That’s beyond question. One moment on Sunday summed it up perfectly and drove the fans mad. Valle played a perfectly weighted pass into space, expecting Palma to run onto it. But instead of chasing it down, Palma just stood there, looking lost. It wasn’t a case of him being too slow to reach it; he simply didn’t try. Maeda would have been onto that ball in a flash. Palma? He didn’t even move.
Fans hate nothing more than a perceived lack of effort. Last season, Rodgers made it clear to certain players that they had to give everything because Celtic is a big club, and players at big clubs can’t afford to slack off. Palma absolutely failed to give that at the weekend, and to make matters worse, he followed it up with one of those irritating social media posts that wind supporters up even more. While comparisons to TikTok poster-boy Todd Cantwell are overblown, it’s not a great look. Palma should be doing his talking on the pitch, not on Instagram.
I’m confident that Rodgers won’t write him off completely, but I also suspect his game time will be limited for a while. Until he shows more in training and in the brief minutes he does get on the pitch, he’s going to struggle to regain his place. And if he doesn’t improve by January, I think Rodgers will be looking to fill that position in the transfer window, and Palma could find himself out on loan or sold permanently.
As the summer window showed, Rodgers has no time for passengers. You either contribute or you’re shown the door. It might sound harsh, but football is a ruthless business. If we’re going to improve as a team, we need to be equally ruthless in moving on those who don’t fit.
Had Palma shown a bit more of that attitude at the weekend, we wouldn’t be having this conversation about his future.
I thought that during the first hour on Sunday the wingers were only 50% of the problem. The change of full backs meant they were all a bit unfamiliar with each other on the flanks and consequently the interchanging between winger and fullback that marked our sparkling easterly season play was a bit tentative to say the least, particularly against pumped up opponents playing at a high tempo. Had we not lost the goals through poor defensive play I was fairly confident the breakthrough would come, but going behind necessitated changes and they comfortably won the game through that rather than have a nail biting end to the afternoon when we didn’t need to. There are two primary issues with Palma, he appears to be rather one-paced for a winger and his play can be very predictable – he always cuts inside and never makes for the byline, so he has work to do, but he has a manager who can improve him and will give him chances – Stuart Armstrong, Dedryk Boyata and Ryan Christie are just three who were a previous manager’s signings who were out of the picture but worked away, got their chance and took it.
I’m not if sure he has a future at Celtic unfortunately…
The near last of Sonny Lawwell’s much vaunted ‘projects’ –
He was a nightmare with penalties – That bloody abject sand dancing run up was dire – and the conversation results showed it !
He seems a lazy player tae me. Has talent aye, tho instead of just pullin the fancy tricks he does or tries, he should be usin them tae get tae that bye line, or get himself in the box. Should be a lot more direct. Still has some time tae prove himself or show signs of improvement, tho right now we’re no seein it.
I can’t see Palma ever getting Maeda’s place but he needs to take his chances when they come along. You can give the benefit of the doubt for some of the performances at the weekend due to the number of changes but Palma has to do more. Apparently there was interest in him at the end of the window, I wouldn’t be pushing him out but if an offer comes in January and he’s still behind Yang in the pecking order then that’ll be that.