Out of favour Celtic midfielder Luis Palma has been linked with a move away from Parkhead in the upcoming January transfer window, with the MLS a potential destination for the player.
With only seven mostly bit-part appearances so far this season, the 24-year-old has failed to feature entirely in Brendan Rodgers' matchday plans of late – something that's raised eyebrows in his home country of Honduras.
Despite failing to hit his stride at club level this season, the player has starred for his country, having netted a brace in a recent CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final tie against Mexico.
Palma's recent absence from Celtic's first-team fold has prompted national Honduran publication Diez to explore the downfall of the player, running an article titled, 'The sad reality of Luis Palma at Celtic: Why did he go from being an undisputed starter to being marginalised by Brendan Rodgers?'
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Within, the article pinpoints Palma's early season injury as mitigating factors tied to his progress this year, while also acknowledging the stiff competition for places in his position.
Diez said (translated via Google): "Honduras' "El Bicho" has barely played a game as a starter so far in the 2024/25 season, and coach Brendan Rodgers has barely let Palma play 126 minutes in the different competitions.
"In the last Scottish Premiership, Luis Palma played 28 games, starting 18 and scoring seven goals. This season he has only played 98 minutes in four games and has not scored.
"In the last Champions League, he scored two goals in five games. One of his goals was against Atlético de Madrid. This season he has only played 16 minutes in the European competition.
"Emilio Izaguirre mentioned a factor that could be one of the reasons why Palma is not a starter at Celtic. 'If you are 200% professional, you have to be 1,000 percent. You have to learn to eat, sleep and train at 2,000 percent because that is where you will find teammates who are more professional than you, where you compete internally,' said the former Celtic player."
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