According to the latest reports from the Scottish Sun, Celtic weigh up a £1.6m move for Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s centre back Hatem Abd Elhamed. Reports also add that the Hoops are close to securing a deal for the 28-year-old defender.
The centre back recently made his international debut for Israel not too long ago, and he can be termed as somewhat of a late bloomer. Abd Elhamed is a versatile defender as he can fill in as a right back as well as a defensive midfielder when required. The 28-year-old started his career as a winger but was later shifted to play on as a defender.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva are a top-flight team from Isreal, and Abd Elhamed has been with them since 2017. The Israel international even has the experience of playing in the Europa League.
Why are Celtic after a defender?
The Hoops recently secured a massive signing in the form of Christopher Jullien from Toulouse. Signing a centre back was always on the cards after the club lost the services of Dedryck Boyata this summer. Filip Benkovic, who played a significant role in the last campaign, has also returned to Leicester City after his loan spell expired. Brendan Rodgers has indicated that he might send the Croatian centre back again on loan, but that situation is still uncertain. Therefore one might feel that the Hoops would still want to sign one more central defender.
Will Abd Elhamed be a good choice?
It seems clear that Celtic are looking to bring in experienced defenders in this window instead of players with potential. They already have young defenders in the form of Jack Hendry and Kristoffer Ajer, so it makes sense for the club to bring in a relatively experienced defender.
Not much is known about Abd Elhamed as he has played his football in Israel for the most parts. He is known to be strong physically, and he had an experience of playing outside Israel before as the 28-year-old had a brief stint with Belgian heavyweights Gent.
With the defender recently getting a national team call up, it seems like the 28-year-old’s career is on the rise. The defender missed some part of last season due to injury as he managed to make only 27 appearances for his side in all competitions. His versatility could be one of the reasons why Celtic are going after him as Abd Elhamed is adept at playing as a right back and that is a position where Celtic don’t have many options.
