Tamuz changes mind, remains with Reds
Hapoel Tel Aviv striker turns down lucrative offer from AS Monaco; transfer window closes.
By Adi Avishai
Toto Tamuz will remain a Hapoel Tel Aviv player until the end of the season
after making a dramatic U-turn in the final day of the January transfer window
on Tuesday by turning down a lucrative offer from AS Monaco after already
undergoing a medical at the club.
The 23-year-old striker, who led the
Premier League with 21 goals last season and has already scored 13 this term,
had initially agreed to join Monaco on a long-term deal believed to be worth in
the region of 800,000 euros a season.
He flew out to France on Monday
morning to complete his move to the Ligue 2 club purchased last month by Russian
billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, but after further negotiations on Tuesday decided
to remain with Hapoel for the time being.
Tamuz, who had his value set
last week at 1.5 million euros by an arbitrator, was unhappy with Monaco’s
refusal to include a relatively low buy-out clause in his contract.
He
was also far from pleased to be offered a significantly lower salary in
France compared to what he was promised when meeting club representatives in
Israel.
“I decided to make a professional choice rather than a financial
one,” Tamuz said. “I think it would be better to move in an orderly fashion in
the summer and to have a proper pre-season with my new team, which I hope will
be in a top league. I’m committed to Hapoel Tel Aviv and appreciate everything
it has done to further my career. I still have plenty of targets to fulfill
until the end of the season.”
In other transfer news, Betar Jerusalem
added Eran Levy, Haim Megrelashvili and Nigerian Harmony Ikande to its squad on
Tuesday.
Levy was released by Hapoel Haifa last week after once more
clashing with a coach, while left-back Megrelashvili joined on-loan from Maccabi
Haifa.
Also Tuesday, Palestinian club Jabel Mukaber had its appeal to
prevent Ali Khatib from playing for Hapoel Haifa turned down by the Tel Aviv
District Court.
Jabel Mukaber claimed that Khatib was under contract at
the club when he signed for Haifa last week and vowed to turn to FIFA after the
court deemed otherwise.
Elsewhere, Eyal Lachman held his first training
session as Hapoel Rishon Lezion coach on Tuesday, replacing the sacked Nisan
Yehezkel.
Lachman began the season at National League club Hapoel
Ra’anana, but resigned in September and quit as Maccabi Petah Tikva coach
earlier this month after just three months at the helm.