Luis Palma – FC Aris’ multi-faceted attacking conduit
Luis Enrique Palma Oseguera or better known as simply, Luis Palma owes a lot to his parents Enrique Arturo Palma and Maria Luisa Oseguera in raising and supporting him in his endeavours. He is one of Honduras’ leading players as he has embarked on a journey to Europe, making his debut in his late teens. As from the ages of 10 to 13, he sold chickens and vegetables alongside his father from their car-boot in the neighbourhood of La Ceiba while they would also travel outside the city to sell their products. His parents instilled in him, the benefits of hard work as he is such a staple of his community that when he returns to his neighbourhood, he is not treated as a celebrity. As a national player whose stock is on the rise in European football, it will not be long before the world outside Greece and Honduras begins to take notice of Luis Palma.
The 22-year-old played for Honduran club, CDS Vida at youth level as he won a National Championship at Reserve Level as he would move to the first-team, scoring on his debut against Honduras Progreso. The Honduran then moved to the United States of America with Real Monarchs where he played 13 games and scored 1 goal before returning to Vida and eventually moving to Aris. In Honduras, he had a distinguished career, winning Player of the Year, Best Goal and Best Young Player honours with 70 games and 23 goals for Vida. At Aris, he has played under multiple Head Coaches, becoming a crucial player under each coach while his time under German Burgos allowed him to gain constant minutes with him being one of the more crucial players on the team. Dynamo Kyiv approached Aris with an offer on the final day of the last transfer window as a move could not be agreed as Palma is fully focused on Aris.
The man more affectionately known as ‘Bicho’ due to his perceived resemblance to Cristiano Ronaldo started the season well under Burgos before being relegated to the bench under Raul Caneda as he has returned to the starting lineup at the early stages of Alan Pardew’s tenure. Palma can operate in a variety of attacking roles as he can drop in between the lines to receive possession, connecting play in between the lines before playing searching through balls in between the lines to create opportunities. On the flank, he has a terrific blend of size and close control to evade markers while he can lob accurate and well angled crosses into the box as he is an attacking conduit who can also create opportunities. He has operated as a second striker with the freedom to drop in between the lines or into the deeper positions to receive possession as he can swivel and play line-breaking passes forward while he constantly made bursts into the wide areas to work connections and create opportunities. As a lone-striker, he will need to improve his movement in the box to get on the end of shooting opportunities as he may be more suited to an inverted wide attacking role.
Away to Panetolikos, he dropped deep to receive possession in between the lines to swivel and lob a pass to Andre Gray making a run in behind as the English striker could not evade a marker to generate a goalscoring opportunity for himself. The 22-year-old was pivotal in build-up play as he dropped in between the lines to receive possession, using his power to shield the ball and connect play as he occupied the eight space in a build-up interchange, using intelligent blind-sided movement to move into a pocket of space as he allowed the ball to roll across his body as if he swivelled and continued his run into the centre, he could have drove forward and had a shooting opportunity at goal but he decided to cut-back and work a one-two with a teammate to drive forward and attempt an errant shot at goal. The Honduran received possession in between the lines once more, contorting his body to play the ball in between the lines but the pass back to him was errant.
He had a shooting opportunity when he received possession at the top of the box, driving a shot at goal which was saved before the 22-year-old utilized his combination play to score a goal. He dropped into the ten space to receive possession in between the lines to lay-off, making a blind-sided movement into space to receive possession once more, skipping past a marker as a teammate made a run to drag a marker out of position for Palma to drive a shot past the goalkeeper at the near post. Palma is astute in the defensive phase as well, dropping back to win an interception, playing a flick-on for a teammate to have a shot saved. He was pivotal in the build-up phase once more, receiving possession to drop deep, working passing interchanges with the centre-back to move to create a three-chain, operating as a wide centre-back on the left before laying off to the centre and back and moving forward to take up a position in between the lines, receiving possession to play a one-touch pass for a teammate to drive into the opposition box.
Palma’s passing range is impeccable as he received possession on the right flank to switch possession to the left as he received possession on the same flank, switching possession to the left in sequence that led to the creation of an opportunity. At home to Levadiakos, he facilitated transition once more, receiving a lay-off, from the nine-space, in between the lines as he used his size and a turn of pace to weave past three defenders, striding forward and bouncing off a sliding tackle before steadying himself to work a pass into the box for a teammate who crossed into the box as the striker was unable to get a shot away. Palma orchestrated another transition in between the lines as he dropped into the eight space to receive possession from his centre-back as he turned to work a connection with his overlapping left-back before playing a back-pass to the six-space and moving in between the lines. The ball would move to the opposite flank with Palma dropping into space to receive possession, threading a through ball for a runner on the flank to cut-back a cross into the six-yard area that the striker was unable to score from.
In a counter-attacking situation, he received possession to drive past a sliding player before earning a foul in the opposition half. In the attacking phase, he received possession in between the lines in a tight space, poking a pass to a teammate with the outside of his boot as he made a run into the channels and did not receive the ball. Palma then had a pre-assist, receiving possession in the left half-space, switching the ball to the right flank for a one-touch pass into the centre for an attacker to weave into the box and apply the finish. He was involved in the creation of another opportunity, this time in leading the pressing phase, pushing up from the deeper areas to close down an opposition deeper-lying midfielder before pushing up to close down a centre-back as he forced a back-pass to the goalkeeper, continuing to press in closing down the goalkeeper, making an interception on a pass that led to a shot at goal from range. The attacker eventually notched an assist, receiving possession on the left flank, to work a one-touch pass to a teammate in the half-space as he made a run into the wide zone, skipping past a defender to drive inside to loft a perfectly arced switch ball to Gray who lashed a strike home. The 22-year-old received possession on the left flank once more to lay-off.
He was limited to substitute appearances during Caneda’s two-game tenure as the 22-year-old came off the bench to score against Olympiakos while at home to PAOK, he received possession on the right flank after making a run into the channels to loft a cross into the box which landed on the forehead of a teammate to head over. Under Pardew, he regained his starting position away to Volos, being deployed as a lone-striker. In the early stages of the game, he made a run to the near post for a cross that was blocked, showing an ability to get goal side of his defender while having the power to hold him off. In an attacking sequence, Palma moved to the left flank to find a pocket of space as a pass to him was blocked and his team shifted the ball to the opposite flank where the Honduran made a run into the six-yard box to receive a cross, making a movement towards the penalty area to receive a cut-back before moving closer to goal to get on the end of a rebound. Palma then moved into the wide areas to lob another cross into the box which was deflected for a blocked shot.
Palma led a pressing situation to force an errant pass for a turnover as he received a lobbed pass into the nine-space, taking a brilliant first touch to lay-off for a teammate before making a run into the channels to receive possession playing a low cross into the box that was blocked. The 22-year-old received another long pass in between the lines, taking a touch to attempt a through ball into the channels which was intercepted. The attacker dropped deep to receive possession, working a pass into the wide areas to move into a pocket of space in between the lines before making a run into the box as he faked a run to the near post to back into a pocket of space to evade a marker as a delivery went just over his head as Palma generated a clear-cut opportunity for himself. Palma had another opportunity, this time from a set-piece, lobbing a free-kick over the wall and just over the bar as he dropped deep once again, receiving possession in between the lines to play a one-touch pass to a teammate before moving in between the lines to receive possession. His penchant for intelligent combination plays and movement in between the lines is not only a transitional tool but a formula for creating opportunities for himself and teammates. Palma received possession in the right half-space to play another one-touch pass to a teammate in the channels as he facilitated another attacking transition.
Palma has 2 goals this season from a 1.13 expected goals number which ranks in the top 25 for expected goals in Greece with the 6th lowest number of minutes as he has 1 assist from a 0.77 assist number. In terms of expected goals and expected assists per 90, he ranks in the top 15 in Greece with a 0.55 number as one of two players under the age of 25 in the top 30. For shots, he ranks in the top 15, ranking number 5 in shots per game as in a small sample size of 11 shots, 64% of his shots come from outside the box while 50% of his shots come from sequences in play. He ranks in the top 15 in through passes, ranking 7th in through passes per game with a 62% accuracy in a small sample size while he also ranks in the top 30 in key passes per game. He ranks in the top 30 in deep completions while being in the top 20 in deep completions per 90 minutes.
Palma is an intriguing player capable of playing in a variety of attacking positions, on the left and the right flank as well as in the central spaces as a second-striker or in more of a false-nine role. His size, ability to receive possession in between the lines and intelligence for one-touch pass and move interchanges make him a player capable of orchestrating transitional sequences to facilitate the creation of opportunities for teammates and himself. When receiving possession in between the lines, he could be more forceful in receiving possession, spinning out of challenges and using his turn of pace to drive forward and have shots on goal. He will need to improve his scanning and knowledge of when to asses an opportunity to turn or work a passing combination as in some situations, the spaces are available for the former. He will need to utilize his movement in the box to get on the end of higher quality opportunities as in some of his creative sequences as there is the potential for this.
In some of his creative sequences, the element of luck has not been in his favour as he has played immaculate through balls for teammates, but the finish has been lacking as he is a talent due to his progressive passing in between the lines and in the final third. From a defensive standpoint, he is astute at pressing the ball and forcing turnovers as well as applying pressure on the ball in counter-pressing situations to regain possession and drive the ball forward to create an opportunity with immediacy. Palma is a player with a multi-faceted playing style as he can operate as a build-up conduit, creator in the final third while he has the potential to grow into a goal scorer. Being deployed as a second-striker is the best position for him as he does not have to shoulder the goalscoring burden while having the ability to drop deep, receive possession and allow teammates to make runs off him. As a wide attacker, he is a very good crosser while he can cut inside to generate shots for himself, tuck into the half-space to work connections and make runs into the channels to receive possession. He could develop into a striker in the right system at the latter stages of his career.
Palma currently has a contract that last until 2026 but with the managerial changes, his value could either skyrocket or fall at Aris, meaning that he could become a bargain at some point. The best club for him at the moment could be Vincent Kompany’s Burnley with their fluidity in the nine-space and how deep Jay Rodriguez drops to receive the ball as he could operate as the striker in that system or in the wide areas. Palma would be a good acquisition for an English Championship side looking for promotion as teams like Sunderland, Norwich, Queens Park Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Swansea. Brighton and Hove Albion could sign him and loan him to Union-Saint Gilloise as a long-term replacement for Danny Welbeck while Palma would also suit the demands of Brentford’s system. Serie A would also be a league that suits his skillset as Udinese, Torino, Verona, Bologna, Empoli and Spezia would also be good teams for him. In France, teams like Montpellier, Lorient, RC Lens, Toulouse, Reims and Brest would also be good moves for him. In La Liga, Elche, Cadiz, Girona, Mallorca, Valencia and Getafe would also be good fits for him. With more game-time, Palma could develop into a sought-after player in the European market by next summer.
