If the Neta Lavi deal to Gamba Osaka of Japan goes through, Maccabi Haifa will land a senior Israeli contact at the club. At the moment, the leading candidate is Maccabi Netanya midfielder Aden Karatsev. The 22-year-old Kartsev is significantly younger than Neta Lavi, but is considered a great potential and is already receiving credit in the national team uniform.
As you may remember, in the summer Kartsev was already closed in the Russian Dynamo Moscow, but the deal was blown up due to the restrictions on Russia under the war in Ukraine and the group’s difficulty in transferring the payment to Netanya. The Diamonds are expected to demand at least two million euros from Maccabi Haifa, when the record transfer in Carmel stands at 1.6 million euros – Fernandez Piero.
It is not impossible that in order to reduce the transaction costs, Carmel will offer Netanya a player or two on loan or alternatively on transfer. In Netanya they show great interest in Maor Levy. Carmel tried to add Goni Noor, captain of Hapoel Jerusalem, in the previous transfer window, and now his candidacy is also on the agenda. The 23-year-old Naor became a permanent member of the Israel national team.
In addition, Maccabi Haifa is building on the return to action of Mahmoud Jaber, one of the stars of last season, with Mohammed Abu Fani and Ali Mohammed being the leading midfielders.