Rayo Vallecano are the latest club to declare an interest in Celtic misfit Luis Palma – with the ambitious La Liga club keen to take the bit part player on loan.
The Honduras winger has fallen right down the pecking order under Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead and has started just once in the Premiership so far this season. Palma‘s future in Glasgow is looking increasingly bleak, with Greek giants Olympiacos, Genoa in Serie and several clubs in the MLS also believed to be keen on a move for the 24-year-old.
Vallecano – who currently sit eight points adrift of the European places in Spain’s top-tier are preparing a loan bid to bring Palma to La Liga for the remainder of the campaign. The wide man netted 10 goals in his debut season for the Hoops but has since found minutes hard to come by and could jump at the chance for a fresh start in Spain.
Elsewhere, Celtic’s Champions League rivals Club Brugge are counting the costs of releasing ex Parkhead star Dedryck Boyata after the defender’s challenging spell with the Belgian club finally came to an end. The centre back penned a three-year deal with Brugge in the summer of 2022 after leaving Hertha Berlin, but has not featured for the Belgian Pro League champions since November 2023.
Boyata – who was a guest of honour at Parkhead when Celtic hosted Brugge in November has now seen his bumper contract ripped up with six months remaining having made just 26 appearances in total, costing the Belgian outfit a whopping £190,000 per game. The Belgium international has lashed out at his treatment by the club, and compared himself to a ‘hyper-contagious disease’ after being told to stay away from the first team and train with the kids instead.
He said: “Sometimes I train alone, sometimes with the reserves and regularly I get a program that I have to do at home – away from the training centre. I mainly struggle with the fact that I am isolated from everything and everyone.
“They wanted me to change in a small room where the cleaning crew keeps their stuff. I refused. I pick up my clothes there and just do it in the dressing room.
“And because I’m only allowed to train in the afternoon, I can’t eat at the club anymore. That way they want to make sure that I have no contact with my teammates in any way. It’s like I have a hyper-contagious disease.”
The 34-year-old previously enjoyed a successful four year spell with the Hoops between 2015 and 2019, scoring 15 goals in 135 appearances and helped the club win four league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups. Boyata won 31 caps for Belgium between 2010 and 2022 and was a part of the side that finished in third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.