Hatem Abd Elhamed will need to obtain a work permit to complete his transfer from Hapoel Be’er Sheva to Celtic.
The defender has earned just one Israel international cap, as a late substitute in the 4-0 defeat from Poland last month, with only regular internationalists from outside the European Union automatically granted a work permit.
Two years ago Alfredo Morelos and Eduardo Herrara were given work permits on appeal despite having no relevant international experience.
Celtic appear to have had permit requests for Manny Perez and Andrew Gutman rejected in January but will be hoping for a swift and positive outcome to Elhamed’s request.
The Sun reports:
CELTIC-BOUND Hatem Abd Elhamed has enlisted the help of Israel boss Andreas Herzog and sports director Willi Rotensteiner to help him secure a work permit for his move to Glasgow. The Hapoel Be’er Sheva defender is expected to complete his £1.6million transfer in the coming days.
But he has to be granted a work permit for the move to be completed and he will need to prove why he should be granted one because he has only been capped once by Israel. And Elhamed has been boosted in his hopes of getting a work permit after Herzog and Rotensteiner both wrote to the SFA to champion his cause.
Celtic have until 11pm on Tuesday to register any new signings to be available for the Champions League qualifier against Nomme Kalju.
Even if Elhamed is granted a work permit he is unlikely to be thrown into a debut against the Estonian side after at most one day of training with Celtic looking to assess his fitness before playing the 28-year-old.