Rodgers must brutally ditch Celtic dud who's played less than Palma

Celtic’s board backed head coach Brendan Rodgers during the summer transfer window, resulting in a club record transfer for the Northern Irishman.

The Hoops paid a club record £11 million to recruit Arne Engels from Augsburg, bolstering their midfield options.

Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo, Viljami Sinisalo, Kasper Schmeichel, Alex Valle, Auston Trusty, and Luke McCowan were also added to the roster to provide depth.

The new recruits have pushed several players to the edges of the group, including Luis Palma, who has struggled for playing time this season.

Luis Palma’s struggles at Celtic

The Honduran international joined the Scottish giants from Greek side Aris in the summer of 2023, where he had a promising rookie season.

Palma performed well in the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership season, scoring seven goals and assisting nine times over 28 games.

palma-celtic-champions-league-rodgers-johnston

The 24-year-old forward has only played 37 minutes in the league this season and has yet to convince Rodgers that he is worthy of starting over Daizen Maeda on the left flank.

The Honduran star, who scored two goals in the Champions League last season, has the potential to be a crucial player for the Hoops if he can regain his prior form, suggesting a future at Parkhead.

Rodgers should get rid of central midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, who has played even fewer minutes than Palma.

Why Celtic should cash in on Odin Thiago Holm

The Hoops paid £2.6 million to sign the central midfielder from Valerenga on a permanent contract in summer 2023.

The 21-year-old flop earns £4.8k per week (£250k per season), totalling over £300k in pay since joining the club last year.

What have Celtic received in exchange for the £2.9 million they have spent on Holm thus far? He has one goal and one assist in 16 outings across all competitions, but has only started two league games in total, both of which were last season.

24/25 Premiership	Minutes played	Starts
Francis Turley	1	0
Mikey Johnston	16	0
Hyun-jun Yang	22	0
Odin Thiago Holm	25	0
Luis Palma	37	0
Stats via WhoScored

As shown in the table above, only Yang, Johnston (who has since left the club), and academy graduate Francis Turley have played less minutes in the league this season.

Celtic signed Engels, McCowan, and Bernardo in his position, in addition to Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate. Holm has not made a matchday squad in the league since Engels and McCowan came on deadline day.

At 21, he is the same age as the Belgian starlet and one year younger than Bernardo, which does not indicate that his progress will cause him to outgrow them – they are already ahead of him at a similar age.

As a result, Rodgers must mercilessly remove Holm from the team and cash in on him during the January transfer window, after spending £2.9 million on him thus far.

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