Former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant has expressed his concerns over Luis Palma’s lack of crosses into the box for Kyogo Furuhashi.
With Palma failing to have contributed to a goal in the Scottish Premiership since December against Dundee, and Kyogo failing to score since his winner against Rangers in December, each player’s influence on games in recent weeks has been far from what it once was.
Grant believes he has the solution to a recent slump in performances from both in the way of Palma looking to cross more into the box for Kyogo.
Grant spoke of his belief that Palma needs to look to mix-up his game on The Go Radio Football Show, saying: “Against Motherwell, Palma was brilliant at doing what? Cross, inside, delivery, ball in the net. Right at the death, what does he do again?
“Inside, cross Matt O’Riley puts the ball in the back of the net. Now he is passing square.
“So that tells me there is a problem. If I were Kyogo, I would go over and wring his neck because of the amount of chances he’s got to put the ball in the box.”
Grant is right; Palma, at times this season, has become too predictable, often looking to cut onto his right foot to take a shot on goal or play a through ball.
However, when he has managed to cross into the box, it complements Kyogo and Matt O’Riley’s styles of finding space in the box.
If Palma can become more unpredictable in his actions when on the ball, he will prove to be an even more effective winger. Solely looking to cut inside has become too predictable for opposition defences, particularly domestically.
