Go Ahead Eagles Confirm Belgian Forward Batten Will Not Join Maccabi Tel Aviv This Summer

Maccabi Tel Aviv's pursuit of Belgian forward Thibo Batten has ended as Go Ahead Eagles confirmed the player will remain with the Dutch club this summer. Despite initial reports from the Netherlands about Maccabi Tel Aviv submitting an offer for the 24-year-old attacker, negotiations failed to produce an agreement. The Israeli club had sought a loan deal with an option to buy, potentially turning mandatory, but the parties could not reach terms.

Jan Willem van Dorp, CEO of Go Ahead Eagles, told ESPN that talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv took place but the club decided to keep Batten, stating, "We talked and managed to reduce the pressure. We are united on this and have closed the door, it’s over." Batten is under contract with Go Ahead Eagles until 2029.

Batten, who had his best season in 2022/23 under Maccabi Tel Aviv’s sporting director Steven Vanhaeren at Beerschot, scored 14 goals across all competitions that year. Last season, he scored once and provided three assists in 20 league appearances for Go Ahead Eagles, and he has already featured in the first two league rounds of the current campaign.