Celtic FC Opinion: Should the Celts sign Hatem Abd Elhamed?
According to a report from The Scottish Sun, Celtic are closing in on the signing of Israeli defender Hatem Abd Elhamed.
The 28-year-old currently plays for Hapoel Beer Sheva and is rated at £1.6million. Elhamed took part in Euro 2020 qualifiers, which became his first ever international stint.
The Israeli centre-back has played for several clubs throughout his career and his longest ever spell was with FC Ashdod, playing more than 100 games.
However, upon moving to Beer Sheva in 2017, Elhamed continued to pour his hard-work which enabled him his maiden national call-up after 10 long years.
In fact, he was able to get his hands on the league title in his first-ever season with the Camels.
Celtic’s centre-back conundrum
The Hoops centre-back void has blown wide open ever since the departure of Dedryck Boyata, followed by Filip Benkovic, who returned to his parent club Leicester and Emilio Izaguirre.
And their full-back void also remains uncertain as Mikael Lustig parted ways with the clubs and Kieran Tierney is heavily linked with a summer move to Arsenal.
Jozo Simunovic and Kristoffer Ajer remain the solid defenders at the moment while Neil Lennon is still searching for the proper back-up options.
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Elhamed could be a sensible addition, given his experience and the reasonable price tag he carries with him. The Israeli international can also play as a full-back and a defensive midfielder and the former Hibernian manager can make use of his versatility.
Final verdict
The Celts are in the transfer market for centre-backs and skipping out the big-money signings would be the smartest way indeed.
Instead, players like Elhamed can be of greater service and has the tendency to punch above his weight if needed.