Celtic went into the international break off the back of a 2-1 win away from Parkhead against Ross County in Dingwall in the Scottish Premiership.
The Hoops have won all seven of their games in the top-flight so far this season, and the penalty they conceded on Sunday was the first goal they had let in in the division.
Brendan Rodgers will now be hoping that the players who have jetted off to play for their respective countries come back without any injury issues and full of confidence.
Meanwhile, the group of stars who did not go away on international duty went over to Ireland to take on Sligo Rovers in a friendly earlier this week.
Scott Bain, Maik Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh, Alex Valle, Luis Palma, Luke McCowan, and Hyun-jun Yang all started for the Hoops, alongside youngsters like Francis Turley and Lewis Dobbie.
Palma was the star of the show for the Scottish giants with a hat-trick in a 3-2 win, with two of his goals coming in stoppage time with the score at 2-2 heading into the final minutes.
This week may have also brought some bad news for the Honduras international, though, as the club are reportedly eyeing another winger…
Celtic's interest in Chile international
According to The Boot Room, Rodgers has a Celtic interest in Dario Osorio and that the Scottish giants ‘admire’ the FC Midtjylland wide player.
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The report claims that the Hoops and Scottish Premiership rivals Rangers are both interested in the 20-year-old talent, but they are far from the only suitors.
It states that Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Newcastle United have also been keeping tabs on the Chile international.
His form at international level and in the Danish top-flight for Midtjylland has seemingly attracted the attention of clubs across Europe, with The Boot Room adding that teams in Spain and France are keen on the impressive youngster.
This means that Celtic would likely face plenty of competition from a host of clubs if they decided to make a swoop for the versatile winger in the January transfer window.
The outlet does not, though, reveal how much money his current team would demand if any team were to make a move for him at the start of next year.
Irrespective of whether or not a transfer to Parkhead is currently viable or not, the news that the club are looking at potentially signing another winger should come as bad news to Palma, who is looking to break into the starting XI.
Luis Palma's Celtic struggles
Rodgers swooped to sign the forward from Greek side Aris for a reported fee of £3.5m and the attacker enjoyed a terrific start to life in Glasgow.
The Hoops sensation recorded an impressive return of five goals and nine assists in his first 16 games in the Premiership for the Scottish giants in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign, which suggested that he was on course to be the club’s new Jota – who had left to join Al-Ittihad a few months prior.
2024, however, has not been a kind year for Palma in the league. He racked up just two goals and zero assists in 12 appearances in the Premiership during the second half of last term.
He has only featured twice in the division so far this season, both times as a substitute, and is yet to record a goal or an assist for the champions.
This means that the 24-year-old attacker has only been directly involved in two goals in 14 league appearances in the Premiership since the start of the year, which is a relatively poor return when you consider his initial start to life in Scotland.
The former Aris star, who has been an unused substitute in both Champions League games so far, still has over two months to go before the January transfer window to force his way back into the starting XI, ahead of Daizen Maeda or Nicolas Kuhn, but it does not look likely on current form.
His friendly hat-trick against Sligo Rovers does, at least, show that he is motivated to perform and still fight it out for his Celtic career, which will be pleasing for Rodgers, but the club’s interest in Osorio will still be bad news for the forward.
Why Celtic's interest in Osorio is bad news for Palma
The Hoops wanting to bring another flanker to the squad, particularly one who has spent the majority of his career playing down the left side, will not be music to Palma’s ears.
Firstly, their interest in Osorio suggests that they are not currently happy with the quality or depth of their options on the wing, with Yang and Palma currently being the back-up options to Maeda and Kuhn.
Secondly, the arrival of another player in his position would see the Honduras international’s chances limited even further, which could make it harder for him to break back into the starting XI.
Osorio has started the current season with one goal and two ‘big chances’ created in five appearances in the Superliga, along with 2.1 completed dribbles per game.
The 20-year-old starlet, who was described as a “flamboyant” player by talent scout Jacek Kulig, also caught the eye with his performances for the Danish side last term.
Appearances
23
Starts
15
Goals
8
Big chances missed
0
Big chances created
4
Assists
2
As you can see in the table above, Osorio produced eight goals and four ‘big chances’ created in just 15 starts, without missing a single ‘big chance’ in front of goal.
This suggests that the Chile international, who is valued at €7m (£6m) by Transfermarkt, can provide quality as a scorer and a creator of goals from the left flank, at least in the Danish league.
Whilst it remains to be seen whether or not he can translate his strong form over to Scotland, Celtic’s interest alone is enough to be of concern to Palma, who may have to consider his future at Parkhead if they bring in another player in his position when he is already behind Maeda in the pecking order.
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