Luis Palma sent clear message amid struggle to get into Celtic team

Luis Palma was signed last summer after Jota left to join Al-Ittihad. The Honduran winger had shown immense promise early on and was putting up impressive numbers in terms of both goals and assists. His overall play was not as good though and as his output started to decline over the course of the campaign, he lost his place in the Celtic starting XI.

The start of this season has been a difficult one for Celtic as well. He has faced fitness issues and has also not gotten enough playing time in recent games.

Palma was left on the bench as Celtic won 5-1 against Slovan Bratislava in midweek in the UEFA Champions League. And with both Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn at the top of their games, and James Forrest contributing off the bench, it is hard to see a way back into the starting XI for the Honduran international.

Palma has been given some advice on what he needs to do. As reported by Sport Witness and as quoted by El Heraldo, former Honduras international Julio Cesar de Leon said:

"It’s difficult to return to the starting lineup when you get injured, you have enough ability to do so, you have to put in a little more aggression, because today you have to know how to kick, earn respect.

“The rest, he has the technical quality, the physical part he is unbalanced, he has to do a little more gym, when he manages to get that he will be a starter wherever he is."

Luis Palma sent clear message amid struggle to get into Celtic team

Palma certainly has a lot of ability in front of goal. He showed that last season, not just domestically but at the Champions League level as well, even scoring a fantastic goal against Atletico Madrid.

But he needs to brush up on other areas of his game. Even more importantly, he needs to be patient and wait for his chance to come around. At the moment, it is almost impossible for Rodgers to drop either Kuhn or Maeda, based on their recent displays.

It is very possible that Palma might get the nod against Falkirk this weekend. If that does indeed happen, he needs to make the most of the opportunity. Because they might end up being few and far between if he does not impress.