European chairman has bizarre negotiating position on Celtic loanee while making Barcelona talisman comparison
The Hoops loanee was farmed out by Brendan Rodgers in the summer to Ekstraklasa.
Lech Poznan Chairman Karol Klimczak has joked that a Celtic winger should start playing badly on purpose during his loan spell to help them negotiate a deal.
Luis Palma was enlisted on loan by the Polish summer with an option to buy, reportedly around the £3m to £3.4m mark. The Honduran has impressed in the Ekstraklasa with his output and has been one of their standout performers in one of the most open leagues in world football.
Palma was signed by Brendan Rodgers from Greek side Aris Thessaloniki but, despite showing early signs of promise, lost his way in the starting XI in a Celtic league-winning side. He has since been farmed out to both Olympiakos and Lech Poznan with varying fortunes.
Poznan may be forced to do a ‘Lewandowski’
Palma, who still has two and half years left on his Celtic deal, has scored six goals and notched seven assists for the Polish champions, however Klimczak joked that this isn’t helping their negotiating position regarding the option to buy clause at the end of the season.
According to The Celtic Way, he said: "I wish we could negotiate the terms of the buyout. The paradox is that if Luis were to stop scoring and assisting now, maybe we'd somehow manage to convince Celtic that the transfer fee is excessive. We know Robert Lewandowski was told not to score goals for Barcelona to avoid paying a bonus to Bayern Munich, but we wouldn't do that! But the position at the moment is we still don't know if we can sign Luis permanently."
Klimczak refers to the bizarre incident when Lewandowski claimed he was asked by Barcelona to stop scoring goals so that they wouldn’t have to pay Bayern Munich a bonus fee after he signed in 2022. The Poznan Chairman is joking that with Palma, he may have to follow suit.
Title race or relegation battle for Palma?
While Scottish football has had it’s fair share of shock stories this year in terms of the league, the Polish Ekstralaska perhaps trumps it in terms of drama. Lech Poznan currently sit eighth in the division, however they are just four points behind league leaders Wisla Plock and just seven ahead of last place Termalica Nieciecza.
To add more drama into the mix, 15-time champions Legia Warsaw sit in the relegation zone, only ahead of Nieciecza on goal difference, while fellow big hitters, Lechia Gdansk were hit with a points deduction for failure to meet financial licensing requirements.
Palma struggled at his previous loan spell at Olympiakos where he only scored one goal in his 12 appearances. After a successful loan switch in the Ekstralaska thus far, it will now be down to both Poznan and Celtic to pave his future.