Bad news for Palma: Celtic have interest in “flamboyant” £6m-rated star

Celtic won 2-1 away against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership before the international break.

The Hoops have won all seven of their top-flight games this season, and the penalty they surrendered on Sunday was their first goal in the division.

Brendan Rodgers hopes his players return from international competitions healthy and confident.

Meanwhile, the stars who did not go on international duty travelled to Ireland earlier this week to play a friendly against Sligo Rovers.

Scott Bain, Maik Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh, Alex Valle, Luis Palma, Luke McCowan, and Hyun-jun Yang all began their careers with the Hoops, as did promising players Francis Turley and Lewis Dobbie.

Palma was the star of the show for the Scottish giants, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 victory, with two of his goals coming in stoppage time with the score at 2-2 into the closing minutes.

This week may have also delivered bad news for the Honduran international, as the club is apparently looking for another winger…

Celtic’s interest in Chile international

According to The Boot Room, Rodgers is interested in FC Midtjylland wide player Dario Osorio, whom the Scottish giants ‘admire’.

According to the source, Celtic and Scottish Premiership rivals Rangers are also interested in the 20-year-old star, but they are not the only ones.

According to the report, Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Newcastle United have all kept an eye on the Chile international.

His performances at international level and in the Danish top division for Midtjylland appear to have piqued the interest of clubs throughout Europe, with The Boot Room reporting that teams in Spain and France are interested in the promising teenager.

This means Celtic would face stiff competition from a number of clubs if they wanted to sign the versatile winger during the January transfer window.

The report does not, however, divulge how much money his present team would expect if another team made a bid for him at the start of next year.

Regardless of whether a move to Parkhead is now feasible, the news that the club is considering adding another winger should be terrible news for Palma, who is hoping to break into the starting lineup.

Luis Palma’s Celtic struggles

Rodgers signed the forward from Greek side Aris for a rumoured sum of £3.5 million. He has had a great start in Glasgow.

In his first 16 Premiership games for the Scottish club in 2023/24, the Hoops sensation scored five goals and nine assists, indicating a potential replacement for Jota, who left to join Al-Ittihad a few months earlier.

However, 2024 has not been a good year for Palma in the league. In 12 Premiership appearances in the second half of last season, he only scored two goals and provided no assists.

He has only made two appearances in the division this season, both as a substitute, and has yet to score or assist for the champions.

This means that the 24-year-old attacker has only scored two goals in 14 Premiership league matches since the beginning of the year, which is a disappointing return given his early start in Scotland.

The former Aris star, who has been an unused replacement in both Champions League games so far, has over two months until the January transfer window to push his way back into the starting XI, ahead of Daizen Maeda or Nicolas Kuhn, but it looks unlikely on current form.

His friendly hat-trick against Sligo Rovers does, at the at least, demonstrate that he is still hungry to perform and fight for his Celtic future, which will please Rodgers, but the club’s interest in Osorio will be detrimental to the forward.

Why Celtic’s interest in Osorio is bad news for Palma

Palma may be unimpressed with the Hoops’ desire to add a flanker who has primarily played on the left side of the pitch.

For starters, their interest in Osorio indicates that they are dissatisfied with the quality or depth of their wing choices at the moment, with Yang and Palma serving as backups to Maeda and Kuhn.

Second, the addition of another player in his position would limit the Honduran international’s opportunities even more, making it more difficult for him to come back into the starting lineup.

In five Superliga games, Osorio has one goal and two ‘big chances’ generated, with an average of 2.1 completed dribbles.

Jacek Kulig, a talent scout, characterised the 20-year-old youngster as a “flamboyant” player. He also impressed with his performance for the Danish team last season.

As shown in the table above, Osorio scored eight goals and generated four ‘big opportunities’ in just 15 starts, not missing a single ‘big chance’ in front of goal.

The Chilean international, valued at €7 million (£6 million) by Transfermarkt, has the potential to score and create goals from the left wing, particularly in the Danish league.

While it remains to be seen whether he can translate his strong form to Scotland, Celtic’s interest alone is cause for concern for Palma, who may have to reconsider his future at Parkhead if they bring in another player in his position when he is already behind Maeda in the rankings.

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