Maccabi Haifa have been turned down for a second time in their pursuit of Ukraine international winger Oleksiy Hutsulyak, according to Ukrainian media, leaving the Israeli champions still hunting for cover on the right flank.
The renewed approach came after foreign winger Manuel Benson picked up an injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for the rest of the season, a blow serious enough that Haifa have reportedly weighed releasing him or freezing his registration to free up a spot on the club's foreign-player roster.
Hutsulyak, 28, has been a free agent since leaving Ukrainian Premier League side Polissya Zhytomyr, where he racked up eight goals and five assists last season before his contract situation lapsed. He previously played for Dnipro-1, Desna Chernihiv and Karpaty Lviv, and has represented Ukraine at senior level.
As a player available without a transfer fee, he looked like an economical fix for a Haifa side suddenly short of attacking width. But this was not the first time the club had tried: Ukrainian outlets Sport-Express and 1927.com.ua report that Haifa had already made an unsuccessful bid for the winger earlier, and Hutsulyak rejected the second, injury-driven approach just as he did the first.
Money appears to be part of the equation. 1927.com.ua reported that in separate negotiations with Azerbaijan's Neftchi Baku, Hutsulyak was said to be seeking around $70,000 a month, well above the roughly $50,000 Neftchi were prepared to offer — a gap that hints at the kind of wage demands any suitor, Haifa included, would need to meet.
None of the reports detail exactly what Haifa put on the table financially, and neither the club nor the player has commented publicly on the talks.
With Hutsulyak still unattached and unconvinced, Haifa are left to search elsewhere to plug the right-wing void left by Benson's injury as the season gets underway.
