Following the departure of Ange Postecoglou from Scotland, Celtic made the decision to bring Brendan Rodgers back to Parkhead for a second stint in the dugout last summer.
The Hoops board then decided to support the Northern Irish head coach by adding a number of fresh players to strengthen the squad during the summer transfer window.
All of them were quickly signed, either permanently or on loan: Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, Paulo Bernardo, Odin Thiago Holm, Paulo Bernardo, Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma, and Marco Tilio.
However, not every acquisition has gone as planned; in January, Kwon and Tilio were both sent out on loan, to St Mirren and Melbourne City, respectively. However, after joining Paradise, Palma, an international player from Honduras, has proven to be a productive addition to the team as he excels at the top of the pitch.
The right-footed winger’s production in the final third has drawn attention, and as a result, his market value has increased. As of right now, he is valued higher than Nicolas Kuhn, the January acquisition.
The summertime market value of Luis Palma
Transfermarkt estimated his market value at €2.5 million (£2.1 million) at the time of his transfer to Parkhead at the end of August 2023 following a stellar stint with Aris in Greece. A lot of teams were interested in signing him before the 2023–24 season because of his outstanding results for the Greek team in the preceding 12 months.
Since then, Palma has disclosed that his agents informed him of Rangers, a Scottish team that also showed interest in him during the summer transfer window, but that once a move to the Bhoys was on the table, Celtic was the only place he wanted to go.
This indicates that Rodgers successfully negotiated a contract with the 24-year-old wizard, who got off to a scorching start for Aris this season, despite opposition from the team’s closest rivals.
In five games throughout the Super League and Europa Conference League qualifying rounds, the Honduran international recorded two goals and three assists.
That came after Palma had scored 13 goals and provided eight assists for the Greek team in 36 games across all competitions during the 2022–2023 campaign. On his route to 11 goals in 20 starts in the Super League last season, the forward impressively missed just one “big chance” in front of goal during his 29 games. This indicates that he was clinical with the opportunities that came his way.
The current market worth of Luis Palma
As of this writing (18/02/2024), Palma’s price on Transfermarkt has skyrocketed to €4.5m (£3.8m), an 80% rise over what was estimated when he moved to Celtic (€2.5m).
This demonstrates that Rodgers struck gold last summer when he signed the gifted wizard from Aris, as he has developed into a vital asset both on and off the pitch. Perhaps as a result of his outstanding performances for Rodgers on the left side in the Scottish Premiership, his worth has increased throughout the course of the season. With 17 starts in the top division for Celtic, Palma has contributed an amazing five goals and nine assists, or one goal or assist every 1.42 starts on average.
This demonstrates how the young genius, who Chris Sutton called “tremendous” earlier this season, has regularly produced quality in the final third thanks to his left flanking talent as a goal scorer and creator.
With his inventiveness, he has also given his colleagues an incredible twelve “big chances.” Greg Taylor has created the most, which shows how good his passing and crossing have been. No other player on the team has managed more than seven.
Palma has so far made 3.0 crucial passes per game for his teammates who attack in the final third, which is 0.8 more than any other player and puts him ahead of Matt O’Riley, who has made 2.2.
These numbers demonstrate how important Palma has been to Celtic at the top of the pitch as their greatest creative threat. In addition to his extraordinary inventiveness, Palma also possesses the ability to contribute five goals.
His market value has skyrocketed because to his incredible performances for the Scottish giants on the left wing, and he is far more valuable than Kuhn, who was acquired last month in an effort to expand Rodgers’ options out wide.
The current market worth of Nicolas Kuhn
Transfermarkt values the January signing from Austrian team Rapid Wien at barely €1.5m (£1.3m) at the time of writing (18/02/2024), which is €3m less than Palma’s assessment.
Although it is more difficult for a player to do so halfway through the season, Kuhn has not quite taken off in Scotland like the Honduran international did at the beginning of the year.
The table above shows that since moving to Scotland in January, the German winger has found it difficult to be very creative. Nevertheless, he did manage to get a goal in the 1-1 draw away to Aberdeen, as his deflected attempt found the bottom corner following a deft feed from Adam Idah.
However, in the first part of the 2022–2023 season, he demonstrated his creative abilities in the Austrian Bundesliga, where he generated 11 ‘big chances’ in 16 games, in addition to 1.8 crucial passes per game and five assists. Before the former Bayern Munich and Ajax prospect can be compared to Palma’s signing, he still has a ways to go.
His work for Rapid Wien, however, indicates that he has the ability to build on his Celtic debut, which would cause his market value to surge above its current €1.5 million estimate. Based on his current numbers, Palma is the primary player on the wings for the Hoops, who signed him and struck gold. Kuhn will need to do a lot to move the excellent forward from that position.
