There is an old adage: "Be careful what you wish for." In Rangers' case that should really be: "Be careful what you say you didn't wish for." Let's get this out there right away: Luis Palma will be very much Rangers' loss and Celtic's gain. 

Former Rangers manager Michael Beale stated the following when he was asked about Palma joining the Ibrox club in the summer from Aris Salonika: "There was nothing between me and the player. It was very late into last season, early into pre-season when someone from his club was pushing him around and we could have taken him on loan maybe with an obligation (to buy) at the time, but it wasn't one we were willing to do."

Beale never threw his own under-performing recruits under the bus but the smart money is on Palma making more of an impression in Scottish football than the likes of Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers. In fact, he is already doing just that.

Whilst it is too early to say if Celtic have finally found a wide player that can fill the void created by Jota's departure to Saudi Arabia in the summer it is fair to say there's hope that the club have landed yet another 'superstar' on the wing.

It must be enough to make Rangers weep given this was a player they were offered first. Instead, they splashed out a reported £8m on bringing in Lammers from Atalanta and Dessers from Italian outfit Cremonese - but little impact has been made by either.

While Rangers look to have hummed and hawed over a deal for Palma, thankfully, Celtic didn't baulk at shelling out £3.5 million. Even at this early stage, it looks like that decisive decision has turned out to be a shrewd move by Rodgers and the recruitment team.

READ MORE: Luis Palma Celtic goal explained amid Killie offside claim

Palma has two goals to his credit in just five appearances for Celtic. That's one more than Lammers and one behind Dessers who have made 16 and 15  appearances respectively and both play through the middle. In fact, the attacker would be on three goals for Celtic had VAR not cruelly chalked off a late strike against Lazio in the Champions League last midweek.

When you actually break it down Palma has netted twice in consecutive matches in just 203 minutes of all competitions since he signed for Celtic. Compare and contrast with Dessers has chalked up 936 minutes and Lammers 863 minutes. It's a scant return thus far for the Ibrox trio and only serves to highlight the implications of good and bad transfer market decision-making.

Celtic Way:

Putting Rangers aside, in Glasgow's east end the comparisons with Jota and another one of Rodgers' first-ever signings are coming thick and fast for Palma. He may never hit the heights of Jota, few could,  but his play is reminiscent of the Portuguese wideman as well as Invincible Scott Sinclair.

It was former Celtic defender Mark Wilson who first made the comparison. He said: "It’s clear what he’s going to bring to Celtic. I think we’ve seen that and the few appearances he’s made so far.

“He looks like he lacks real pace but what he has is end product. He can cut in on that right foot and whip in a wicked delivery into that back post area or whip one in like he’s done this afternoon. He is very much kind of like Scott Sinclair under Brendan Rodgers. I don’t think Scott Sinclair was ever going to really run away from anyone but what he did have was those couple of touches, shifting it and putting it into that dangerous area.”

Cut from the same cloth as Jota or Sinclair? It doesn't really matter does it? If Celtic have unearthed a player who can net double digits in terms of goals and assists just as Jota did in the two seasons and can make a similar type of impact as Sinclair did whilst he was at the club then Rodgers will be beaming from ear to ear.

Jota bagged 15 goals and 12 assists last season allied to 13 goals and 14 assists in the 2021/22 campaign. Sinclair won three league titles, three Scottish Cups and three League Cups and chipped in with a 62 goals and 33 assists over 167 appearances for Celtic. Both of those are tough acts for Palma to follow - but he is already growing into the Celtic shirt. The fans sense it. Rodgers knows it.

In the aftermath of the Kilmarnock match the Northern Irishman said: “The players at the top end of the pitch have to create and score goals, that’s their contribution but Luis is settling in very well. These guys are coming from different climates and cultures.

“People feel the need for them to be perfect right away. I don’t, it’s all about adaptability. If they feed into the club’s winning mentality, they’ll improve here. You see with Palma, he’s getting better game by game. He was excellent today and scored a very good goal. He was dangerous. He played his part in a very good collective performance.”

READ MORE: Can Luis Palma replace Celtic Jota void? - video debate

Dangerous. Scored a very good goal. Played his part in a team performance. Sounds very familiar doesn't it?

The Celtic supporters have been crying out for someone to take the Jota mantle in terms of goals and assists. Like the Al Ittihad star, Palma is also reputed to be a bit of a dead-ball specialist although he has not had the opportunity to demonstrate that prowess... yet.

Critics have been quick to point out that he may lack pace for a winger but he is technically gifted and possesses a nice touch as well as looking composed and very strong. He knows how to use the ball and looks clever and inventive with it. He is no slouch in the creative department either and it won't be long until he is regularly troubling the assists column - and as the Motherwell, Lazio and Kilmarnock matches have already shown he has a keen eye for goal. Both strikes against Motherwell and Kilmarnock are just the sort of potent weapon that Celtic will need against tightly-packed defences who park 10 players behind the ball.

All of this adds up to a player who is now looking comfortable in a Celtic jersey. He is starting to click into gear and his own displays are developing in conjunction with the team which augurs well for all parties moving forward.

And that's more than can be said about Dessers and Lammers at this minute down Ibrox way. Be careful what you wish for indeed. Seeing a man their former manager publicly discounted perform so well must be enough to make everyone associated with the club highly vexed.

I think the phrase is 'bealin' isn't it?