Agent Reveals Why Yonatan Nikolasho Transfer to Hapoel Ramat Gan Collapsed

The transfer saga of Yonatan Nikolasho, who was close to signing with Hapoel Ramat Gan, has ended in failure, with the player remaining at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Nikolasho's agent, Rafi Epstein, revealed in an interview that the deal fell apart at the last minute due to "nonsense." Epstein explained that negotiations with Maccabi Tel Aviv had been ongoing for three months, as the club intended to remove Nikolasho from its foreign player roster for the season. After Nikolasho chose an offer he liked, Hapoel Ramat Gan's Avi Yechiel met with him and was impressed, with Nikolasho also eager to join the team. All financial terms and conditions, including a release clause, were reportedly agreed upon.

However, three days before the transfer window closed, Epstein sensed a slowdown in communication from Hapoel Ramat Gan. He suspected something was amiss when calls became less frequent. On the final day, Epstein believes the reason for the collapse was Hapoel Ramat Gan's failure to secure a replacement winger, leading them to decide Nikolasho should stay with Maccabi Tel Aviv instead. Epstein criticized Maccabi Tel Aviv, stating that the deal ultimately fell apart over "trivialities" and that the club manufactured a reason to break it off, despite contracts and lawyers being involved. He expressed that it would have been more respectful if Hapoel Ramat Gan had communicated their decision earlier.

Epstein also provided an update on Nikolasho's recovery from injury, stating that the player is training with a ball and could return to full training by mid-October and play in November. He also mentioned that Adrian Buta is happy at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, despite some disappointment about not playing recently, and is integrating well with the team.