Agent Reveals Why Yonatan Nikolasho's Transfer to Hapoel Ramat Gan Collapsed

The highly anticipated transfer of Yonatan Nikolasho to Hapoel Ramat Gan has fallen through at the last minute, with the player remaining at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Nikolasho's agent, Rafi Epstein, revealed in an interview with "5 Ba'avir" that the deal collapsed due to "nonsense" in the final moments after three months of negotiations.

Epstein explained that Maccabi Tel Aviv initially wanted to remove Nikolasho from their foreign player roster for the season. After considering several offers, Nikolasho was impressed by Hapoel Ramat Gan and its manager, Avi Yechiel, who had experienced a similar injury. All financial terms and conditions, including an exit clause, were reportedly agreed upon by both clubs.

However, in the final three days before the transfer window closed, Epstein sensed a slowdown in communication from Maccabi Tel Aviv. He suspected that Maccabi had failed to secure a replacement winger and decided to keep Nikolasho, despite having agreed to pay his full salary. Epstein stated that Maccabi "did everything to prevent the deal from happening."

Epstein expressed shame over the trivial reasons that ultimately scuttled the deal, calling it "nonsense." He noted that Nikolasho remained uninvolved in the negotiations, deferring all decisions to his agent. The agent criticized Maccabi Tel Aviv for not being upfront about their intentions earlier, stating it would have been more respectful to call off the deal in the morning rather than making last-minute changes.

Regarding Nikolasho's current status, Epstein mentioned that the player is recovering from an injury and could return to full training by mid-October, with a potential return to play in November. He also provided an update on Adrian Ogrisa at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, stating the player is happy there despite some recent playing time concerns.