Glasgow Rangers decided to back Michael Beale last summer as they allowed him to make huge changes to the playing squad during the transfer window.
The English head coach brought in a host of new players, including Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers, Danilo, Jose Cifuentes, Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling, Jack Butland, Leon Balogun, and Abdallah Sima.
Two of those players – Lammers and Cifuentes – have already been allowed to depart on loan from the Scottish giants, as they both left in January, and Danilo, Sima, and Dowell are currently out with injuries.
Dessers has also struggled at times as the former Cremonese marksman has missed a staggering 20 ‘big chances’ in 23 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, to go along with his ten goals.
Whilst you can point to the signings Beale did make and criticise the club for their incoming business last summer, you can also look at the players they reportedly failed to sign instead.
Rangers’ interest in current Celtic star
It was reported in June of last year that the Light Blues had been in talks with Greek side Aris FC over a possible deal to sign winger Luis Palma.
The state of play at the time was that ‘more than ten’ clubs were interested in signing the impressive Honduras international to bolster their respective squads.
However, the Light Blues failed to secure a deal for his services as they were not prepared to pay the £4.5m that the Greek outfit were demanding for his signature.
It was reported that there was a ‘huge distance’ between the two clubs in their negotiations, which suggests that the Gers did not feel Palma was worth the quoted price, or that they did not have the funds to spend £4.5m on the forward.
That price seemingly lowered over the next couple of months as he eventually completed a transfer to Celtic in August 2023 for a fee of £3.5m, according to Sky Sports.
Whether or not the Ibrox giants would have been prepared to spend up to £3.5m, which was £1m off the initial valuation, is unclear, though.
At the end of that month, the exciting attacker revealed that his agent did mention interest from Rangers, which suggests that the reports earlier in the summer had some credibility, but that his focus was solely on Celtic after he heard of their desire to sign him.
The club’s failed swoop to sign Palma has turned out to be a big blunder from Beale as he has gone on to be a star in the Scottish Premiership this season, and is currently on more assists than Gers captain James Tavernier in the top-flight.
Luis Palma’s brilliance for Celtic
The 24-year-old whiz has hit the ground running in Scotland and emerged as one of Brendan Rodgers’ top performed in Glasgow during the 2023/24 campaign so far.
He arrived at Parkhead after an impressive start to the season with Aris. The young gem produced two goals and three assists in five appearances in all competitions for the Greek side, which meant that he joined in top form.
Palma has made 21 appearances and started 17 times in the Premiership so far this term for the Hoops and contributed with an eye-catching five goals and nine assists for his side.
The right-footed magician, who was hailed as “tremendous” by Chris Sutton earlier this season, has produced a goal or an assist every every 1.21 starts on average in the division for the Bhoys.
He has been a constant creative threat for his team on the left flank with 12 ‘big chances’ created and 3.0 key passes per match – the most by any player within the Celtic squad in both statistics.
Palma racked up a staggering 11 key passes in just one match – against Dundee in December on Boxing Day – and was only rewarded with one assist for his extraordinary creative efforts.
At the time of writing (21/02/2024), no player has managed more assists than the 24-year-old ace (nine) in the Premiership this season, which suggests that he has been the best creator in the league since his move to Parkhead.
His exceptional statistics in the Scottish top-flight for Celtic suggest that Rangers dropped the ball by not splashing the cash to secure his signature, particularly when you consider that the terrific wizard has assisted more goals than Tavernier this season.
James Tavernier’s season in numbers
The Gers captain is the club’s most creative player from right-back as he uses his set-piece and crossing quality to create opportunites for his teammates on a regular basis.
Now 32, the experienced dynamo has been pivotal for Philippe Clement this season and stepped up yet again over the weekend to score two penalties in a 3-0 win over St Johnstone to send Rangers to the top of the Premiership table.
That performance a few days after his extraordinary display against Ross County in a 3-1 win for the Light Blues at Ibrox, as Tavernier displayed his outstanding creativity.
James Tavernier
Vs Ross County
Minutes played
90
Sofascore rating
10
Chances created
Eight
Big chances created
Three
Assists
Three
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the English full-back created plenty of chances at the top end of the pitch and was rewarded with three assists for his effort – two more than Palma managed from three more key passes against Dundee earlier in the season.
That phenomenal effort against Ross County took Tavernier’s assist total for the Premiership campaign to eight – five more than any of his teammates – and his number of ‘big chances’ created to 13 – in 26 league starts
This means that the former Newcastle United prospect has created a ‘big chance’ every two starts and assisted a goal once every 3.25 starts on average this season.
Whereas, Palma, who has assisted one more goal than Tavernier, has created a ‘big chance’ every 1.41 starts and assisted a goal every 1.89 starts on average for Celtic in the Premiership, with 12 ‘big chances’ produced and nine assists in 17 starts.
These statistics show that Rangers missed out on a player who would have been Clement’s biggest creative talent had he replicated his current form for the Hoops at Ibrox, which is why failing to sign him was a howler by Beale last summer.
