local Soccer: Reds’ roster being picked clean

Summer will see four Hapoel Tel Aviv members jump ship for teams abroad; Schechter and Vermut to move on to German teams.

By ALLON SINAI
itay schechter and gili vermut_311 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
itay schechter and gili vermut_311
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
The summer exodus from Hapoel Tel Aviv will begin in earnest this week with Itay Shechter, Gili Vermut, Eran Zahavi and Danny Bondarv all expected to officially seal their moves abroad.
Shechter and Vermut agreed their personal terms with FC Kasierslautern of the Bundesliga over the weekend and are set to complete their moves in the coming days, when the Germans come to an agreement with Hapoel regarding the transfer fee.
Kaiserslautern is expected to pay in the excess of three million euros for both players, with the 24-year-old Shechter set to fetch in the region of 2.5 million and the 25-year-old Vermut having a 750,000-euro buy-out clause in his contract.
“Despite the fact I hadn’t played much recently I had plenty of offers,” said Shechter, who despite being sidelined since injuring his shoulder on January 17, was handed a four-year deal worth around 600,000 euros per season by the Germans.
“I’m happy Gili will be joining me. That will make my life much easier both on and off the field. This is a realization of a dream for both me and Gili.”
While there had long been rumors connecting Shechter with Kaiserslautern, Vermut’s move caught everyone by surprise.
“Things developed rapidly over recent days,” said Vermut, who was also given a four-year deal worth around 600,000 euros per season.
“I could have left last season but decided to stay and help Hapoel reach the Champions League. Being with Itay will certainly help us both and I can’t wait to get the season started.”
Another player who is set to leave Hapoel in the near future is Zahavi, who is on his way to Palermo of the Italian Serie A, with Bondarv already officially completing his free-transfer move to Volga Nizhny Novgorod of the Russian league.
“Hapoel Tel Aviv may be higher in quality and status, but the Russian league is much better than the Israeli league,” Bondarv told the club’s official website after it announced his signing.
The 24-year-old Moscow-born defender agreed to a three-year deal worth approximately 450,000 euros per season and will become the third Israeli to play in the Russian top-flight when the August transfer window opens, joining former Hapoel teammate Bibras Natcho (Rubin Kazan) and Ze’ev Haimovich (Terek Grozny).