Why Luis Palma can hit Jota's lofty numbers for Celtic

I'm going to lay my cards firmly on the table here.  My jury is well and truly out on Honduran winger Luis Palma. The wide man moved to Celtic from Greek side Aris last August for a fee of £3.5 million and made a total of 35 appearances in all competitions last season. However, with ten goals and ten assists to his credit, there is a nub of talent that Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers could potentially unleash in Palma moving forward. Those stats and numbers are something that can be worked on.

Palma's campaign was also disrupted by a knee injury which ruled him out from March onwards until the last weeks of the season. In an ideal world, Rodgers has stated that his express wish for the 2024/25 season is for his Celtic team to play with 'pace and power', especially in the attacking areas. With the best will in the world, Palma possesses neither quality. The 23-year-old is Celtic's proverbial 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma'. At times he looked capable at times of providing everything in the park but more often than not he flattered to deceive.

There were fleeting highs from Palma who showed at times that he could be some sort of package when it all clicked into gear for him. He produced stunning efforts league efforts against Kilmarnock and Ross County as well as a superb assist for Matt O'Riley at Tynecastle. There was also a hat-trick of assists as well as a counter in a 6-0 destruction of Aberdeen in November. He also bagged a cracking strike against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League during a 2-2 draw at Parkhead in October and was denied a winning goal against Lazio owing to a marginal call by VAR. It was also Palma who signed off Celtic's Scottish Premiership campaign with the close-range winner in a 3-2 victory over St Mirren on Trophy presentation day. It was a timely reminder to the Northern Irishman and the Celtic supporters that he was still around.

He seems perfectly happy in Glasgow even if he had to refute suggestions that he was looking for an exit strategy from Parkhead. Rumours began to circulate in Honduras that the player was on his way out of Celtic but Palma shot them down at source by declaring that the Celtic supporters haven't seen the best of him yet.

(Image: Agency)

READ MORE: Stunned Luis Palma shuts down Celtic transfer exit reports

Palma said: "That's the first time I have heard of that. I have no idea where that came from. have only been at Celtic for a year. I have four years left of my contract. I am focusing on the new season and getting back to the level I was at when I first arrived. It won't take much to get me back to that.

"The pre-season will be important for me because we want to become champions again. I want to work harder to ensure that happens again."

In his defence, Palma is one of several Celtic players who will hopefully benefit from getting a good pre-season under his belt. However, Palma probably blotted his copybook during Celtic's narrow 1-0 league triumph over Ross County and he missed a penalty twice having attempted to lazily fool the Staggies goalkeeper George Wickens by hitting the same lackadaisical and dreadful spot-kick both times. It reeked of complacency, and arrogance as he displayed a terrible attitude with two poorly executed efforts.

Palma looked like a player who had reached some sort of comfort zone after an initial decent spell. In short, Palma was beginning to believe his hype. Granted the hype wasn't of Jota proportions but there was certainly talk that Palma could replace the loss of the Portuguese winger's numbers and contribution in terms of goals and assists. There is also a school of thought that Palma alongside fellow wingers Nicolas Kuhn and Yang Hyun-Jun failed to provide enough quality service and decent supply for main striker Kyogo Furihashi which was largely why the Japanese talisman netted 19 goals in the campaign when he had netted 34 the season before.

There is a lot of merit to that argument despite Palma's record in terms of goals and assists being decent he still hasn't fully convinced everybody yet that he is a certain starter in Rodgers' team. The manager watched Palma player every day in training and even when he did return to full fitness, Rodgers was still reluctant to include him in the starting XI. There is a need for Palma to simplify his game and become more of a team player. There were plenty of examples last season when Palma chose the wrong option and didn't appear to do what was best for the team. He can be greedy at times and tends to slow the play right down. Even when he was presented with one-on-one opportunities, he'd opted to stop and cut inside and looked to fire a shot away at goal. That aspect of his play was frustrating. Just ask Kyogo.

READ MORE: Why this Celtic winger could have a good season - video

(Image: Agency)

Not every touch that Palma takes has to be included in his personal highlights reel but the player at times failed to grasp that concept. He developed an annoying and peculiar habit of trying to score from every corner kick. He frequently persisted in crossing the ball with the outside of his foot which brought little or no reward. He would shoot from impossible angles when if he had lifted his head or been more spatially aware he would have realised that he could have slid in a teammate and teed up a goal for them.

Note to Palma: Every strike does not have to be a goal-of-the-season contender. That alone limits your overall effectiveness. Although Palma did like to take risks and attempt the impossible. That manifested itself in the shape of cute dinks and fancy flick-ons and only ever looked good if they came off. That said, the issues with Palma seemed to be more about his mentality and attitude rather than anything to do with his technical ability per se. He still offered more than Kuhn or Yang did in the wide areas and his set-piece delivery when it was bang on the money was impossible to defend. The problem with that was that his delivery was too sporadic and not regular enough for his teammates or manager's liking.

For all of that, Palma's first-season Celtic statistics are impressive. He managed two goals in the Champions League - against Atletico Madrid and Feyenoord. The Honduran at times is a walking contradiction as a player. It's fair to say that Palma faces a huge season in the context of his Celtic career. There lurks a player deep within Palma but this has to be his breakout season in green and white.

If Palma can find the levels of consistency that he showed in his purple patch at the club from October to December time when ironically he was a regular starter then he stands a great chance of framing the narrative and writing his own Celtic story. If Rodgers can turn Palma into a winger who can double his contribution and produce 20 goals and 20 assists in the 2024/25 season then that will endear him once again to the Celtic supporters. Those kinds of certainly numbers worked wonders for Jota.

The talent is there. Consistency is the key for Palma. If it won't take much to get back to the level he was at when he first arrived then Palma has to be true to his word. If Palma can deliver this season and Celtic go on to become champions again then if the truth be told the supporters won't care a 'Jota' as to how he goes about his business.