Rodgers could cash in on Palma with Celtic swoop for £5m “artist”

Celtic are set to head into Christmas Day in first place in the Scottish Premiership table despite dropping points at the weekend against Dundee United.

The Hoops were unable to find the back of the net at Tannadice Park and were held to a 0-0 draw on Sunday, which was just the second time that Brendan Rodgers’ side have dropped points in the top-flight this season.

Their 2-2 draw with Aberdeen earlier in the campaign was the only other time, in 16 matches so far, that the Scottish giants failed to secure all three points.

The Bhoys have impressed across all competitions, as well as the Premiership, though, as they have already lifted the League Cup, beating Rangers 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in regulation time at Hampden Park earlier this month.

Celtic are also on course to qualify for the play-off stage of the Champions League, with one defeat in six matches in Europe’s premier cup competition.

Despite all of their success across all competitions, the Premiership champions could look to make some changes to their squad in the upcoming January transfer window, and Luis Palma is one player who could be on the chopping block.

Why Luis Palma should be sold

The Honduras international made a rare appearance in the league on Sunday, as he came off the bench to make his fifth appearance of the season in the division.

He has failed to convince Rodgers to give him regular minutes in the Premiership and has been linked with a move away from Parkhead ahead of the second half of the season.

The Scottish Sun reported at the start of this month that MLS clubs are eyeing up a move for the former Aris winger, who is said to be considering his future at Parkhead due to a lack of game time in the 2024/25 campaign.

Palma has zero goals and zero assists in five appearances in the Premiership, and no goal contributions in his 16-minute outing in the Champions League.

As you can see in the table above, the 24-year-old flanker had a strong first season with the Scottish giants, with 21 goals and ‘big chances’ created in just 18 starts.

Unfortunately, though, the Honduran star has not been able to kick on after his initial signs of promise in Glasgow, and Rodgers has not felt that he has been in a position to start regularly over the likes of Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn, James Forrest, and Hyun-jun Yang.

The Northern Irish head coach could, now, ruthlessly cash in on Palma amid interest from the MLS by swooping to sign one of the club’s reported targets in that position.

Celtic’s interest in Norwegian star

Earlier this month, Norwegian sports outlet Nettavisen, as relayed by The Celtic Star, Celtic are eyeing up a possible swoop for Sarpsborg forward Sondre Orjasaeter ahead of the January transfer window.

The report claimed that the Premiership champions have been keeping tabs on his performances in Norway during the 2024 campaign, which recently came to an end.

Orjasaeter is currently teammates with former Celtic Player of the Year winner Stefan Johansen and the ex-Hoops star could have plenty of good words to say about the Glasgow giants to convince the 21-year-old gem to make the move in January.

It did not reveal, however, how much Sarpsborg would want for the impressive left-sided attacker, or whether or not the Bhoys are prepared to make an official offer to secure his services.

The Daily Mail reports that Rodgers wants to add a left winger to his squad next month but it remains to be seen whether or not that player is Orjasaeter, who is valued at around £5m by Transfermarkt at this moment in time.

Celtic must, now, swoop to sign the Norway U21 international when the January transfer window officially opens for business next month, because bringing him to Parkhead would free up the space for the club to ruthlessly cash in on Palma.

Why Celtic should sign Sondre Orjasaeter

Firstly, his arrival would provide the Hoops manager with two quality options in the left wing position, with him and Maeda competing for that starting spot, and that would allow Rodgers to move the Honduras international on without worrying about a lack of depth in that area of the pitch.

Secondly, Orjasaeter only turned 21 last month and would arrive at Parkhead as a talented young player with the potential to develop, which means that the Hoops could help him to improve his performances on the pitch and, as a result, increase his value for a possible future sale.

Finally, the 21-year-old wizard’s form in the Eliteserien during the 2024 campaign suggests that the potential is there for him to come in and provide Maeda with real competition for his place in the starting XI in the second half of the season.

Orjasaeter, who was nicknamed “the artist” by former Wolves star Håvard Flo, is a right-footed left winger who has the quality to come inside onto his favoured foot to provide quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals for his side.

When compared to Maeda’s form in the 2023/24 campaign, as the Sarpsborg star has just completed a full league season, the Celtic target stacks up very well.

As you can see in the table above, the Norwegian dynamo has the potential to offer significantly more creativity, whilst not being as wasteful with the chances that come his way in the final third.

These statistics suggest that Rodgers could bring in a player to improve his team offensively by signing the Sarpsborg star, albeit it remains to be seen whether or not that form can translate over to Scottish football, due to his ability to consistently create high-quality chances for his teammates.

On paper, Orjasaeter appears to be a quality option for the Hoops to swoop for in January, and his arrival would allow them to finally cash in on Palma.