Celtic winger Luis Palma has come under fire from Honduran media and former players following his performances during the recent international break.
Despite his limited playtime with Celtic this season, playing just 27 minutes in the league in the first four games, the 24-year-old started both matches for Honduras in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Palma has not made the expected impact when donning the national jersey, according to critics. Former Honduras international Nerlin Membero expressed disappointment with Palma’s performances, suggesting that expectations around the winger may be too high.
“Sometimes we overestimate the individual abilities of the players,” he told Diaz.
“He plays well, he is a good player, with a good level and in a team that participates in the Champions League. He is going to grow, but to say that Palma is above the rest – no not yet. Even if he plays Champions League matches, much more is expected of him.”
Palma is going through a rough patch at Celtic and with his national side, it’s fair to say. After showing real promise and quality at the back end of last year, injuries saw him struggle to reach the level he had set for himself.
He’s aware that he’s not meeting expectations, but he’s severely lacking in confidence which isn’t helping things.
Back at Celtic, Palma will be hoping to leverage any playing time he gets, to silence his critics and prove his worth both domestically and internationally.
With Celtic back in action against Hearts this weekend, Palma will be looking at getting some more minutes under his belt, but having remained on the bench the last two games and not making the matchday squad the game before that, the chances of minutes are slim.
