Celtic are set for a busy end to the January transfer window after an unexpected twist happened after the 1-0 win over BSC Young Boys in the Champions League last week.
Following the celebrations in Parkhead after the Hoops secured their place in the play-off round of the competition, it was reported that fan favourite striker Kyogo Furuhashi could be on his way out of the club, despite starting the game.
Rennes have since signed the Japan international for a reported fee of £10m and that has come as a blow to the Scottish giants, as the 30-year-old marksman scored 85 goals in 165 matches for the club.
The blow of losing Kyogo from the squad during the January transfer window has been softened, however, by the return of Portuguese winger Jota.
He was reportedly in Glasgow over the weekend to put the finishing touches on an £8m transfer from Rennes, whom he joined from Al Ittihad last summer, and officially completed his return on Monday.
The former Benfica star, however, is a winger and Kyogo’s exit means that the Scottish Premiership leaders are still in the market to add another centre-forward to the group.
Celtic’s interest in Danish forward
It was recently reported by Football Insider that the Hoops are poised to go in with an attempt to sign Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby before the end of the January transfer window.
The outlet claimed that Celtic are plotting a late move to sign the Denmark U21 international before the deadline to replace Kyogo, as Adam Idah is the only senior, first-team, number nine in the squad aside from the Japanese forward.
Idah-Celtic-McGregor
It stated, however, that Brondby are reluctant to part ways with the 22-year-old star and that it would take a mammoth fee of £10m to secure his services ahead of the second half of the season.
Football Insider added that Celtic have money to spend and want to do a deal to sign Kvistgaarden as well as bringing Jota back for £8m, thanks to the £10m that they have raked in for Kyogo.
FFC Header Transfer Focus
Transfer Focus
Despite being a potential £10m signing, the Danish striker, who has scored ten goals in 12 Superliga starts this season, is reportedly on £3.9k-per-week in wages, which is around £200k-per-year.
This suggests that the Hoops could snap him up on a relatively cheap contract, compared to a signing from the Premier League on £20k-per-week or higher, to offset how large the transfer fee is.
In fact, Celtic have a number of underperforming players who earn more than Kvistgaarden, including one who should be moved on before the end of the window.
Celtic’s top earners
25 players, which was 26 with Kyogo, within the Hoops squad currently earn £4k-per-week or higher, including 12 players on £15k-per-week or more.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers celebrates with the trophy after winning the League Cup
This means that, unless Celtic hand him a significant wage hike, Kvistgaarden would arrive at Parkhead as one of the lowest earners in the group, or, at least, he would be unlikely to be near the top of the pile.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Callum McGregor are reportedly the two highest earners in the squad on £37k-per-week, almost ten times what the Danish forward is currently on.
Top ten earners
Celtic squad
Weekly wage
Cameron Carter-Vickers
£37k
Callum McGregor
£37k
James Forrest
£19k
Daizen Maeda
£18k
Alistair Johnston
£16k
Reo Hatate
£16k
Arne Engels
£16k
Adam Idah
£16k
Luis Palma
£16k
Greg Taylor
£15k
Wages via Salary Sport
As you can see in the table above, the majority of the top ten earners in the squad are key, starting-calibre, players, but James Forrest and Luis Palma do not fall into that category, with six league starts combined this term.
The latter, in particular, is one flop who has not done enough to justify his wages this season and Brendan Rodgers must, now, ruthlessly cash in on the Honduras international before the end of the January transfer window next week.
Why Celtic should sell Luis Palma
Firstly, the pending arrival of Jota from Rennes could mean that the former Aris forward finds himself in third place in the pecking order to start on the left flank, behind Daizen Maeda and the Portuguese ace.
Palma has already struggled for game time in the Premiership for the Hoops this season, with one start in eight appearances, and another signing in his position could further restrict his minutes on the pitch.
luis-palma-celtic-premiership
Last week, Football Insider reported that Sunderland, Stoke City, Swansea City, and Queens Park Rangers, as well as unnamed clubs in Europe, are all interested in a deal to sign the in-demand attacker before the deadline, which shows that there are plenty of sides willing to snap him up.
The outlet added that Palma is keen to move away from Parkhead, in search of regular game time, and that Celtic would want a replacement for him if he were to leave, although Jota’s official return to the club means that they now have that replacement.
This shows that there is a willingness from both sides to part ways if the right opportunity comes up before the end of the window, and Rodgers must push for the club to ruthlessly sell him to one of those Championship sides, or any other interested party.
Luis Palma’s drop-off
Premiership
23/24
24/25
Appearances
28
8
Goals
7
0
Assists
9
0
Big chances created
14
1
Key passes per game
2.4
1.5
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Palma enjoyed a strong start to his career at Celtic, with his effective performances in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals, but the drop-off has been huge.
He has not offered much to the team at the top end of the pitch in the Premiership so far this season and Rodgers has not trusted him enough to play the winger week-in-week-out in the division.
Therefore, it could be the perfect time, given Jota’s pending return to Parkhead, to ruthlessly cash in on the Honduras international, who has failed to live up to the early promise he showed in a Celtic shirt.
Celtic-Jota-Palma-Premiership
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