Rangers may need to pay around £2 million to sign Honduras international Luis Palma from Aris Thessaloniki this summer, according to reports in Greece.
As you might expect from a player who idolises both Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry, Palma is at his most effective when drifting in to often-devastating effect from the wide areas. In 29 games this term, the versatile attacker has scored 10 goals and set up six more.
Form which, according to SportTime, has caught the eye of a Rangers side who will be in the market for a new wide-forward this summer.
Ryan Kent’s contract expires in July. And, presuming that an extension is not forthcoming, Palma appears to have been lined up as a replacement.
Will Rangers replace Ryan Kent with Luis Palma?
With 16 to his name, Palma has three more goal contributions than Kent in 2022/23 despite playing 13 games less, while his price-tag is unlikely to put off a Rangers side who may be able to offer Champions League football again next term.
Palma, Sfina report, is valued in the region of £2 million. That would still make him one of the most expensive exports in Aris’ history, alongside Avraam Papadopoulous and Angelos Charisteas; the hero of Greece’s Euro 2004 triumph.
“(Cristiano Ronaldo) is my idol,” Palma told Honduran legend Carlo Costly a couple of months ago, pulling out CR7’s new ‘sleeper’ celebration after hitting a hat-trick past PAS Lamia in November (Deportes).
“I’d like to play in the Spanish league, or the Premier League. I like the Bundesliga a lot too. I’d like to go to the Premier very much. I am inspired by those leagues, but we are going step by step.”
The Scottish Premiership may be viewed as something of a sidewards step by some. But, at Rangers, Palma will have the chance to compete for silverware while making his mark in European competition.
What’s more, there’s no shortage of players who ended up securing a big-money move to English football after making a name for themselves north of the border. Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Aribo, to name but three.
Manager Mick Beale, meanwhile, appears none the wiser about whether Kent will stay beyond July.
“We’ve had discussions around it, and we’ve both parked everything until we’ve found a moment,” Beale tells Herald Scotland.
“I think it’s right that, after the amount of years he’s been here, he takes time to consider his options. It’s the same time that we do as well.”
