Bnei Sakhnin have wrapped up one of their more pressing pieces of preseason business, confirming the signing of free-agent defender Dimitri Kabara, according to ONE, ending weeks of negotiation as the Galilee club rebuilds its back line ahead of the new Israeli Premier League campaign.
Kabara, 31, arrives without a transfer fee. His contract with Turkish side Esenler Erokspor ran out on 30 June, leaving the Guadeloupe international and dual French citizen a free agent from 1 July. Standing 1.84 metres and capable at right-back or in the centre of defence, he becomes the latest arrival to emerge from Sakhnin's training camp in Hungary.
ONE first reported Sakhnin's interest in Kabara several weeks ago, describing a club still hunting for defensive reinforcements after failing to extend the stay of Hassan Hilu. Kabara's career has taken him through French football and, most recently, Turkey's second tier with Esenler Erokspor.
His arrival adds to a summer rebuild that already includes Cameroonian forward Kevin Soni, who returned to the Premier League after a season with Hapoel Jerusalem, as coach Yossi Abukasis reshapes the squad that finished last season.
Elsewhere at the training base, attention has turned to one of last season's genuine breakout stories. Ahmad Salman, the 22-year-old forward who has become a firm favourite with the Sakhnin crowd, missed two training sessions this week with illness but returned to full work with the group, ONE reports.
Salman has attracted interest from abroad: Hungarian club Debrecen have made contact and, per ONE, have offered him a contract worth in the region of €200,000 a season - a significant sum for a player still only in his early twenties.
Sakhnin, however, are not entertaining a sale. Salman signed a three-year deal with the club not long ago, and its leadership regard him as central to their plans. ONE reports that officials intend to sit down with him soon to discuss upgrading his terms rather than cashing in on outside interest.
It is a mark of how highly the club now rates him: last season's performances are said to have convinced Sakhnin's board that Salman has outgrown his existing contract, even with a European suitor circling.
Between a free-transfer addition in defence and a reward for a player already established in the first team, the two stories capture the balancing act Sakhnin face every summer - bringing in cover cheaply while trying to protect their own academy-bred talent from a bigger payday elsewhere.
The club's preseason continues in the Toto Cup, where Sakhnin face Hapoel Haifa in their next outing after picking up one defeat so far in the competition.
