Celtic’s Luis Palma secured a loan move to Olympiacos during the winter transfer window after Brendan Rodgers opted not to give him regular playing time at Celtic Park.
This temporary switch has allowed him to feature more consistently, as he’s clocked 320 minutes across six matches. He’s also contributed a goal and an assist, which came during Olympiacos’ dominant 6-0 victory over AEK Athens in the cup.
According to Sportime, the Celtic player was close to joining AEK Athens in the summer of 2023.
The winger had previously spent 18 months in Greece with Aris Saloniki before making the move to Celtic in August 2023.
Before joining the Scottish champions, the 24-year-old was on the verge of sealing a transfer to AEK Athens. At the time, Dimitrios Melissanidis was the club’s owner, and the report indicates that he had ‘finalised’ the deal.
The transfer was so far along that the Honduran international had even secured a house in Athens and was awaiting the contract signing. However, the move fell through after AEK Athens’ manager, Matías Almeyda, intervened to block it.
Sportime notes that it remains unclear why Almeyda opposed the signing of the Honduran winger.
Palma’s goal and assist in the first leg of the semi-final clash against Athens have put his team in a strong position to reach the final. The report suggests that his performance has also made Almeyda ‘regret his decision’.
Almeyda’s refusal to approve the transfer ultimately paved the way for Celtic to sign Palma in 2023.