It is safe to say that Celtic are struggling to make things happen going forward at the moment. They have scored just eight goals in their opening six league games. In the Europa League, they have scored once in two matches. And they went without a goal in 210-plus minutes of action against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League qualifier.
Kelechi Iheanacho has looked decent and has been somewhat unlucky not to have scored more than twice so far. On the other hand, Sebastian Tounekti has shown flashes of quality but needs to work on his output. Other than that, there is very little to be excited about Celtic going forward.
Of course, we do not want to sound like revisionist historians. But could Luis Palma have helped in this situation?
He had been brilliant early on in his time at Celtic before losing his place in the starting XI. And to be fair to him, he never really got a genuine chance to win his place back. He joined Lech Poznan on loan this summer and has been fantastic, with 4 goals and 3 assists already this season. If things continue on this path, the Polish club are expected to take up the option to buy.
In-form player could leave Celtic for less than €4.5m next summer
It looks like the option to buy is set at lower than the initially believed €4,5 million. As reported by Meczyki, Dawid Dobrasz said:
"From what I know, the buyout clause for Luis Palma isn't 4.5 million euros, but a bit less. The second issue is that Lech is well aware of Celtic's financial problems. Lech will just wait, and there might be a situation like with Walemark, where just as Feyenoord approached Lech on their own, Celtic might do the same. I'd stay calm - if "Kolejorz" wants him, they'll shell out that kind of money. "
Considering Celtic's recent financial reports, posting record revenue and profits, it is hard to imagine that they have any 'problems' in that area. That being said, the club do often act like they do when it comes to the transfer market.
Anyways, it looks like Palma's long-term future lies away from Celtic Park. He was clearly out of Brendan Rodgers' plans and a permanent move will probably be the best step for everybody involved. That being said, considering his form, perhaps they could have attracted a bigger offer if the option to buy was not included in the Lech Poznan deal.