Metalist courted Yermakov during Ukraine camp, but Maccabi Haifa says no new offer arrived

Maccabi Haifa says it has not received any fresh bid for goalkeeper Georgi Yermakov, despite an Ukrainian report that he had given the green light to a move to Metalist Kharkiv. A Haifa source told Walla Sport on Wednesday morning, “We did not receive any offer for the goalkeeper. As we understand it, he wants to stay in Israel or move to a very big league.”

Even so, Metalist officials visited Yermakov during the Ukraine national team’s training camp, where he is currently with the squad for friendly matches. According to the report, they tried to persuade him to join the club, which is prepared to pay a large transfer fee and a substantial salary.

Yermakov has already been approached by Metalist in the January transfer window, but he then made clear that if he does not get a chance to move to a major league, he would prefer to remain at Haifa. The club says it is hearing the same message now, that he prefers to stay in Israel rather than join a mid-table team in Ukraine.

Haifa expects the coming weeks to be decisive for his future. The club plans to improve his current salary, which is about 200,000 euros. If he does leave, Haifa has identified Omri Glazer as a possible replacement, although it still believes the chances of Yermakov staying are very high.