‘Every team would want’ – Celtic star looks set for January exit

The Celtic star looks like a man in demand as the manager of one of the clubs interested in his signature as claimed “Every team would want to sign him”.

It will be interesting to see what kind of transfer business Celtic pull off in January. On one hand, the club’s start to the season has been an absolute disaster and it would make sense for them to inject some new blood into the squad in order to help turn things around.

But on the other hand, it is unlikely that the club will have too much funds at their disposal. It is undeniable that the global pandemic has hit clubs hard financially and Celtic are no exception. So, if they manage to put up respectable results over the next few weeks, it should not be a surprise if they decide to sweep the previous results under the rug and move forward with the squad that they already have.

One man who looks very likely to leave the club in January though is Hatem Abd Elhamed. The Israeli international has grown homesick in Glasgow as his young family doesn’t live here. And he is ready to move back. The club are also sympathetic to the situation and will let him leave if they can find a suitable replacement.

A number of Israeli clubs want to sign him. And Hapoel Be’er Sheva manager Yossi Abukasis has made his interest public. As reported by the Daily Record, he said:

“Hatem is an excellent player that every team would want to sign. If we can bring him here to the club it will be a huge blessing for us. But of course there are some excellent players at the club already and we’ll have to wait and see.”

Elhamed had joined Celtic back in 2019 from Hapoel Be’er Sheva for a reported transfer fee of around £1.6 million and the Hoops will be hoping that they can get a large portion of that back. But based on the current financial situation, a loan deal might end up being the most likely path to his Parkhead exit.

It will be important that the club manage to replace the Israeli international though before letting him leave. He was the first-choice right-back upon joining the club last season but a series of injuries and the emergence of Jeremie Frimpong meant that he lost his place in the team.

He still remains an important part of Neil Lennon’s plans though. Capable of playing at both right-back and centre-back, his versatility is a huge asset to the club. And losing him will be like losing two back-up players. As a result, his exit might not be as straightforward as it looks at first glance.