Celtic Board backs manager Brendan Rodgers pursuit of 33-goal star labelled “dangerous”

Celtic Board backs manager Brendan Rodgers pursuit of 33-goal star labelled “dangerous”

Earlier this year, Football Insider revealed that the Hoops are interested in signing Blackburn Rovers attacker Sammie Szmodics.

They are not the only team vying for his signature,

however, as the site reported that Premier League club Brentford is also interested in signing the Republic of Ireland international ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Football Insider went on to say that other sides from the Premier League’s bottom half might join Celtic and the Bees in their pursuit of the former Colchester star,

implying that there could be a fierce struggle for his services.

However, the same source then supplied an update at the beginning of April,

making it appear unlikely that the Scottish giants will be able to complete a deal,

as English teams are claimed to have an advantage over them in terms of fee and wage offers.

However, the second source claimed that Blackburn may be unable to retain the attacking midfielder due to heavy interest from elsewhere,

implying that there may be an opportunity to exploit this summer.

If the Irish superstar becomes available for the Hoops to sign,

Rodgers might finally revive Luis Palma‘s career by signing him before the start of next season.

Luis Palma’s disappointing season

The Bhoys reportedly paid £3.5 million to capture the Honduran international from Greek club Aris FC during last summer’s transfer window.

He began the season in excellent form at the top of the pitch, scoring five goals and providing nine assists in 16 Premiership matches in 2023.

14 direct goal involvements in 16 league appearances demonstrate that the attacker was a consistent scorer and creator for Rodgers.

The exciting winger made an immediate impact in Glasgow and appeared to be an excellent addition to the Northern Irish manager’s roster.

However, there is a dramatic contrast between his performance in the last five months and the first half of the season.

Palma has only scored two goals and provided one assist for the Scottish giants in 14 appearances in all competitions since the turn of the year.

He appeared in 11 Premiership games, scoring one goal and providing zero assists for the team during that time.

This demonstrates that his form has plummeted in the second part of the season,

and Celtic must find a method for him to return to his peak performance next season.

How Sammie Szmodics can revive Luis Palma.

To begin, it is worth noting that Celtic’s first-choice centre-forward has underperformed in front of goal for the majority of this season,

despite the high quality of chances generated for him.

Kyogo Furuhashi has 13 goals from 17.49 xG in the Scottish Premiership,

representing an underperformance of 4.49, the greatest of any player in the Hoops squad.

The 29-year-old forward, who averages one goal every 187 minutes,

has wasted an incredible 23 ‘great chances’ in the final third, in addition to his 13 goals in 33 games.

This implies that the attacker was unable to make the most of Palma’s ingenuity,

as evidenced by the winger’s nine assists from 13 ‘big chances’ created.

Szmodics, described as “dangerous” by journalist Josh Bunting,

scored an amazing 27 goals from 21.41 xG for Blackburn in the Championship this season, a 5.69 overperformance.

The 28-year-old striker scored an incredible 33 goals in all competitions for the English club,

including six in three FA Cup games in addition to his 27 league goals.

In 44 Championship games for Blackburn, he missed only 17 ‘big opportunities’ and

was in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the division for non-penalty goals per 90 minutes (0.62).

These data indicate that Szmodics would be a lot better option in the final third than Kyogo due to his exceptional finishing ability.

The Ireland international is a clinical and prolific forward who has demonstrated an amazing ability to score goals.

As a result, Rodgers might spark Palma by bringing Szmodics in to offer the winger

with a dangerous attacker capable of capitalising on the ‘huge opportunities’ that he has frequently created.

It is now up to the club to outbid English clubs for the Blackburn star and boost his assault with a fantastic new addition.

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