Celtic decided to bring Brendan Rodgers back to Parkhead for a second spell in the dugout last summer after Ange Postecoglou moved on from Scotland.
The Hoops board then opted to back the Northern Irish head coach in the summer transfer window by bringing in a host of new signings to bolster the squad.
Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, Nat Phillips, Odin Thiago Holm, Paulo Bernardo, Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma, and Marco Tilio were all snapped up, either on loan or on a permanent basis.
Not all of those signings have gone to plan so far, though, as Kwon and Tilio were both sent out on loan, to St Mirren and Melbourne City respectively, in January.
One player who has been a successful addition to the squad, however, has been Palma as the Honduras international has been an impressive performer at the top end of the pitch since his arrival at Paradise.
The right-footed winger has caught the eye with his output in the final third and his market value has soared as a result, which currently has him worth more than January signing Nicolas Kuhn.
Luis Palma's market value last summer
At the time of his transfer to Parkhead at the end of August 2023, Transfermarkt placed his market value at €2.5m (£2.1m) after an excellent spell with Aris in Greece.
He attracted attention from a number of clubs ahead of the 2023/24 campaign due to his fantastic performances for the Greek side over the previous 12 months.
Palma has since revealed that his agents made him aware of interest from fellow Scottish side Rangers during the summer transfer window but that Celtic was the only place he wanted to go once a move to the Bhoys was on the table for him.
This means that Rodgers fought off competition from the club's nearest rivals to secure a deal for the 24-year-old magician, who started this season on fire for Aris.
The Honduras international produced two goals and three assists in five matches across the Super League and Europa Conference League qualifiers.
That came after Palma had racked up 13 goals and eight assists in 36 matches in all competitions for the Greek outfit throughout the 2022/23 campaign.
Impressively, the forward only missed one 'big chance' in front of goal across 29 appearances in the Super League last season, on his way to 11 goals in 20 starts, which shows that he was clinical with the chances that came his way.
Luis Palma's current market value
At the time of writing (18/02/2024), Palma's current market value on Transfermarkt has shot up to €4.5m (£3.8m) and that is an 80% increase on his valuation at the time of his move to Celtic (€2.5m).
This shows that Rodgers hit the jackpot by signing the talented whiz from Aris last summer as he has become a valuable asset on and off the pitch.
His value has soared over the course of the season, possibly thanks to his excellent performances on the left flank for Rodgers in the Scottish Premiership.
Palma has started 17 times in the top-flight for Celtic and chipped in with an exceptional five goals and nine assists, which is a goal or assist every 1.42 starts on average.
This shows that the young wizard, who was hailed as "tremendous" by Chris Sutton earlier this term, has consistently provided quality in the final third with his ability as both a scorer and a creator of goals on the left flank.
He has also created a staggering 12 'big chances' for his teammates with his creative quality. No other player within the squad has managed more than seven, with Greg Taylor having created the next-most, which illustrates how impressive his passing and crossing has been.
To that point, Palma has made 3.0 key passes per match for his fellow attackers in the final third, which is 0.8 more per game than any other player – ahead of Matt O'Riley with 2.2.
These statistics show that Palma has been a difference-maker at the top end of the pitch for Celtic as their outstanding creative threat, whilst also having the quality to chip in with five goals on top of his sublime creativity.
His fantastic performances on the left wing for the Scottish giants have caused his market value to soar, and he is worth considerably more than Kuhn, who was snapped up last month in an attempt to bolster Rodgers' options out wide.
Nicolas Kuhn's current market value
At the time of writing (18/02/2024), Transfermarkt values the January signing from Austrian side Rapid Wien at just €1.5m (£1.3m), which is €3m less than Palma's valuation.
Kuhn has not hit the ground running in Scotland in the same way that the Honduras international did at the start of the season but it is harder for a player to do that midway through the campaign, which does provide some mitigation.
Appearances
Four
21
Goals
One
Five
Assists
Zero
Nine
Big chances created
Zero
12
Key passes per game
0.5
3.0
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the German winger has struggled to produce much in the way of creativity since making the move to Scotland in January.
Although, he did get himself on the scoresheet in the 1-1 draw away at Aberdeen as his deflected effort found the bottom corner after Adam Idah's clever pass.
Whereas, his creative quality was on full display in the Austrian Bundesliga during the first half of the 2022/23 campaign, as he created 11 'big chances' in 16 appearances, to go along with 1.8 key passes per game and five assists.
The former Bayern Munich and Ajax prospect has a long way to go before he can be described as being as successful as the signing of Palma has been.
However, his creative output for Rapid Wien suggests that the potential is there for him to improve upon his start to life at Celtic, which could then lead to his market value soaring past his current €1.5m valuation.
At this moment in time, Palma is the main man on the wings for the Hoops, who struck gold by signing him, and, based on his current statistics, it will take a lot from Kuhn to shift the impressive forward from that position.
