Transfer

Celtic sign Luis Palma on five-year deal as Scottish champions make seventh summer signing

Celtic have signed Luis Palma on a five-year deal; the Honduran winger arrives from Aris FC for £3.5m; the 23-year-old is Brendan Rodgers' seventh summer signing

Anthony Joseph

Sky Sports News @AnthonyRJoseph

Thursday 31 August 2023 13:05, UK

Celtic have signed winger Luis Palma on a five-year deal from Greek side Aris FC, subject to international clearance.

The 23-year-old arrives from the Greek club for a fee of around £3.5m as Celtic look to try and fill the void left by Jota's move to Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad.

Palma, who scored 13 goals in 36 games for Aris last season, has also made six appearances for Honduras.

"I could not be any happier with [Wednesday's] news," he said. "It is a very special day for me and an honour to be announced as a Celtic player.

"I can't wait to be part of this great club, a club I know all about as one of the great names in world football.

"I know that Celtic always aims to play football the right way, a team that entertains and has a pedigree of winning and delivering success, and this is what I want to be part of.

"I have spoken to the manager and I'm really looking forward to joining him and my team-mates and starting my journey with such a brilliant club.

"I have already had so many messages of support and I thank all our fans for the welcome I have been given.

"I can't wait to play in front of the Celtic supporters and I will do all I can to bring our fans good football and some good moments."

The attacker has been capped six times for Honduras and made his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in 2021.

He becomes the seventh player that manager Brendan Rodgers has signed this summer, joining Gustaf Lagerbielke, Marco Tilio, Odin Holm, Hyeokkyu Kwon, Hyunjun Yang and Maik Nawrocki.

The club are also set to sign defender Nat Phillips on loan from Liverpool before Friday's deadline after Nawrocki and Cameron Carter-Vickers were ruled out for eight weeks with injuries.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: "We are really pleased to bring Luis to the club. He is a player who had a lot of options but, of course, we are delighted he has chosen to come to Celtic, an opportunity which really excites him.

"He is a very talented, player who likes to play attacking football so we hope he will be a very good fit for the team.

"Luis has reached a very good level so far, playing a lot of games and achieving international recognition, but I also know that he is ambitious to improve and continue his development with us.

"We look forward to Luis joining up with the squad and to start working with him."

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