'Proud' former coach reveals why key Celtic signing chose 'dream' Hoops move

Luis Palma's former coach Francisco Pavon has revealed how proud he is of the Celtic forward's performances in Glasgow after the player sought his advice on the move during the summer.

The 24-year-old had been a huge success at Celtic Park in the first half of the season, scoring seven goals for the club after arriving on a five-year-deal from Greek outfit Aris and Pavon opened up on the conversation the pair had prior to his move to the Scottish Premiership.

"I remember that when he was in negotiations to go to Celtic he also had an offer to go to Saudi football and he consulted me for advice. He asked me what I would do and what I would advise him. Of course, I am proud that he took my points of view into account and went to Glasgow," explained the former Vida boss.

Former Honduran international Pavon, who enjoyed a spell in Austria during his playing career, was Palma's coach at the forward's first club Vida where he began his career as a teenager and discussed the close relationship he built with the star that led to their telephone call during the summer.

"I trained Luis Palma since he was 12 years old so seeing him succeed now in European football, at Celtic, makes me very, very happy. It made me proud to see him singing the Champions League anthem before the games.

"He has said in interviews that he regards me as being his second father and you don't know how proud that makes me feel. Looking back, in every training session, Luis was willing to sacrifice himself. In addition to his talent, he has been disciplined, which has led him to achieve his goals and to succeed.

"He always told me about his dreams, I told him that he had talent, but only when that is combined with willpower and discipline could it take him to the top. Even among his generation, there were players from his area who were similarly talented, but the difference was the discipline he had

"Talent alone is not enough and Luis has so many things going for him" added Pavon.