A summer of speculation could end with Luis Palma signing a new contract after Scottish Premiership giants Rangers reportedly opted against meeting Aris’ £5 million asking price.
With only four goals and two assists in his final 15 games of the 2022/23 Greek Super Lig season, did an untimely dip in form scupper Luis Palma’s hopes of a move away from Aris Thessaloniki? An already eye-watering £5 million price-tag looking even less appetising to potential suitors on the back of some hardly-stellar displays?
“(Palma) seems to have lost his mind a little. (He) has some outbursts of individualism,” reporter Alexis Savvopoulos told Bwin Sport.
Palma has always been an idoliser of Cristiano Ronaldo. But, as he lined up numerous pot shots from distance, perhaps he was engaging too much in the less-palatable aspects of CR7’s game.
“It’s clear that right now he’s playing for the numbers and himself,” Savvopoulos adds. “Someone needs to tell him that he should play for the team, because Aris needs him and needs his quality.
“He is a player who has shown that he can make a difference. But not with the approach he has had in recent games.”
Rangers would not pay £5 million for Luis Palma
While messages were certainly mixed about how serious Rangers’ interest really was, Palma did admit that he would be interested in a move to Scotland. Aris’ sporting director, meanwhile, appeared also to confirm that Rangers had been keeping tabs on the Honduras international.
The Gers were unwilling to pay the £5 million Aris wanted, however – reportedly seeing an opening bid of £2.5 million rejected. And after turning their attention to the far more affordable option that was Abdalla Sima, signing the former Slavia Prague whizzkid on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, Palma is now facing up to the very real prospect of another year in Greece.
According to All About Aris, the Yellow and Blacks have not received a single offer in the region of £5 million, despite Palma’s agent insisting that the number of suitors were in the double figures.
It is now seen as ‘very likely’ that Palma will sign a new deal instead – complete with a pay rise – with his current employers seemingly pricing the 23-year-old out of a switch to Scotland, France, Germany or the American MLS.
