It’s so easy to forget that footballers are humans like the rest of us, so simply getting paid a lot of money isn’t always enough to help them settle.
The current Covid-19 situation makes it almost impossible for players to travel to see their families if they don’t all stay together, so it looks like Hatem Abd Elhamed could be on his way back to Israel.
The Sun reported that he’s starting to struggle in Glasgow due to his wife and young son being based back in Israel, so he’s becoming homesick and would like to move back.
It appears that he has opened up to the club about the issue so hopefully they’re doing all they can to help, but he is attracting interest from Maccabi Tel-Aviv and it’s believed that Celtic will listen to offers in January.
It could come down to the club finding a suitable replacement who can come in and challenge Jeremie Frimpong for the right back spot, as Anthony Ralston was pretty dreadful for St Johnstone last season so he can’t be seen as a reliable option at this point.
His return to Israel could be complicated as Celtic are looking to recoup the £1.6m fee they spent on him, while it’s believed that Southampton are showing an interest in Frimpong so it’s unlikely that both would be allowed to leave.
You have to feel for the Israeli defender as it’s a tough situation he’s found himself in and he’s a likeable player who always gives it everything on the pitch, but it should also be a departure that Celtic can handle fairly easily.
