Younes Melida Transfers from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Hapoel Be'er Sheva Ahead of Champions League Playoff

In a surprising move in Israeli football, Younes Melida has transferred from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Hapoel Be'er Sheva and will travel with his new team tomorrow (Monday) for their Champions League playoff match against Sabah on Wednesday at 22:00. Melida was acquired by Maccabi Tel Aviv three years ago from Belgian club Mechelen for 350,000 euros but saw limited playing time. Since he has not participated in Maccabi's Europa League qualifiers, he is eligible to play for Be'er Sheva in the Champions League playoffs.

Last season, Melida appeared in only seven games for Maccabi Tel Aviv and scored two goals since his arrival from Belgium. Despite these modest stats, Be'er Sheva's coach Ran Kojukh, who previously coached Melida at Maccabi Netanya, pushed for his signing. Melida underwent medical tests at Be'er Sheva in recent days to finalize his contract, as the team departs soon for Romania ahead of the match. His salary is expected to be lower than at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The transfer negotiations were led by Be'er Sheva CEO Nir Katz and approved by Maccabi's owner Mitch Goldhar. Previous players who moved from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Be'er Sheva, such as Maharan Radi, Dan Biton, Guy Mizrahi, Eitan Tibi, and Matan Baltaxa, have been very successful. Kojukh tends to trust players he knows well, like Niv Yehoshua and Marko Wolf, and believes Melida can regain his former quality from his Netanya days.

Currently, there are no other Israeli candidates in talks despite rumors about Mohammed Abu Fani, who may be released soon by Red Star Belgrade. After the Champions League playoff stage, Be'er Sheva plans to add two quality foreign players in defense and midfield, as suitable candidates have not yet been found.