Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers was heavily backed by the board during the recent summer transfer window, as the club smashed their transfer record for the Northern Irishman.
The Hoops agreed a club-record fee of £11m to sign central midfielder Arne Engels from Bundesliga side Augsburg to bolster their options in the middle of the park.
Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo, Viljami Sinisalo, Kasper Schmeichel, Alex Valle, Auston Trusty, and Luke McCowan were also brought in to add depth to the squad.
The new additions have pushed some players to the fringes of the group and one dud who has struggled for game time so far this season is Luis Palma.
Luis Palma's struggles at Celtic
The Honduras international joined from Greek side Aris in the summer of 2023 and enjoyed a promising debut campaign with the Scottish giants.
Palma showed plenty of signs of promise in the 2023/24 campaign in the Scottish Premiership, with a return of seven goals and nine assists in 28 appearances.
Unfortunately, the 24-year-old forward has not done enough to convince Rodgers that he deserves a place in the starting XI ahead of Daizen Maeda on the left flank, and has only played 37 minutes in the league this term.
The Honduran star, who scored two goals in the Champions League last season, has shown that the potential is there for him to be a key player for the Hoops if he can recapture his previous form, though, so there may still be a future for him at Parkhead.
One player who Rodgers should brutally ditch, however, is central midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, who has played even fewer minutes than Palma.
Why Celtic should cash in on Odin Thiago Holm
It was reported that the Hoops splashed out a fee of £2.6m to sign the central midfielder from Valerenga on a permanent deal in the summer of 2023.
The 21-year-old flop has reportedly been earning £4.8k-per-week – £250k-per-season – and this means that he has earned roughly £300k in wages since his move to the club last year.
What have Celtic got in return for the £2.9m they have spent on Holm so far? He has produced one goal and one assist in 16 matches in all competitions, and has only started two league games in total – both of which came last term.
Francis Turley
1
0
Mikey Johnston
16
0
Hyun-jun Yang
22
0
Odin Thiago Holm
25
0
Luis Palma
37
0
As you can see in the table above, only Yang, Johnston, who has since left the club, and academy graduate Francis Turley, have played fewer minutes in the league this season.
Celtic have signed Engels, McCowan, and Bernardo in his position, on top of already having Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate, and Holm has not made a matchday squad in the league since Engels and McCowan arrived on deadline day.
At the age of 21, he is the same age as the Belgian starlet and one year younger than Bernardo, which does not suggest that his development is likely to see him outgrow them – as they are already ahead of him at a similar age.
Rodgers must drop Hatate for Celtic star who made a "massive difference"
The Hoops boss should finally unleash the summer signing from the start.
ByDan EmeryOct 7, 2024
Therefore, Rodgers must brutally ditch Holm from the squad and cash in on him in the January transfer window, with £2.9m already sent down the drain on him so far.
