Luis Palma sees Celtic transfer stance made crystal clear as £9.8m successor door opens amid Jonjoe Kenny swirl
Movement in and out of Celtic Park is on the cards in January
Fringe man Luis Palma has been told he MUST leave Celtic by the president of the Honduran FA in order to ramp up his game time.
The 24-year-old is struggling to make his mark in his second season at Celtic Park and has mainly been handed cameos off the bench by Brendan Rodgers so far this season - with his last appearance for the Scottish Premiership leaders coming at the end of October in the win over Dundee. It has led to escalating speculation over the future of the winger, with Jorge Salomon now urging the Honduran international to consider his future.
He told Diario La Prensa: “We hope that players like Palma can be lucky enough to be given more continuity either at Celtic or another team. He is a very polite, very dedicated boy, he loves the national team, he takes care of himself personally, he is well involved in this matter.
“I hope he has the good fortune that the club he plays for can give him more playing time, which will be important for him and the growth of the national team. As well as others.”
And if boss Rodgers wants a replacement, he could face a fight to land Hammarby forward Bazoumana Toure. The Hoops, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen are all said to have scouted the 18-year-old in recent months.
Sporting director Mikael Hjelmberg has left the door open for the attacker, telling podcast Lundh: “Believe it or not. I would think that maybe it will start to move properly at the end of December, or especially in January. But I wouldn’t be completely shocked if there were offers for him before Christmas.
“Yes, they are contacting his agents of course. There are some clubs that have contacted us too. Then there are new clubs written about in the media every day that I don’t know about.
"But there are quite a few. That’s how it is. There are many clubs asking about him and there are many clubs who are curious about what it would cost to buy him."
Pressed on how much it would cost to land the attacker, the hosts floated a €12million (£9.8m) price tag. Hjelmberg responded: "At least.”
A surprise rumour emerging in Germany is that Celtic could make a move to bring back Jonjoe Kenny. The right-back spent an ill-fated spell on loan from Everton at Celtic Park back in 2021.
Currently at Hamburg, the 27-year-old's contract with 2. Bundesliga side expires at the end of the campaign. Bild report that the Hoops and Bournemouth have the defender on their wishlist and he could leave in January to allow the German side to recoup a transfer fee. We’re treating this one with a dollop of scepticism, though...