Maccabi Tel Aviv have opened talks with Go Ahead Eagles over a move for Thibo Baeten, ONE reports, as the Israeli champions look to add width on the right flank before the transfer window closes.
Baeten, a 24-year-old Belgian, is primarily a left winger but has also operated on the right, which is understood to be the specific gap Maccabi are trying to fill. His market value is put at around €500,000.
According to ONE, the shape of the proposed deal is a loan with a purchase option that could become obligatory if certain conditions are met — a structure increasingly common in Maccabi's recent recruitment abroad.
Dutch outlet Voetbalprimeur reports that Go Ahead Eagles have already rejected an opening proposal from the Israeli club, though the two sides remain in contact as they try to find a formula both can accept.
The player's own stance appears to be the most encouraging sign for Maccabi: Dutch reports state Baeten is interested in the move and open to joining the Yellow-and-Blue, which could give the Israeli club leverage in further talks with Go Ahead.
Baeten is under contract in Deventer until the summer of 2029, giving Go Ahead Eagles little financial pressure to sell cheaply or quickly, even with the player reportedly receptive to leaving.
He came through Club Brugge's youth system before joining NEC Nijmegen in January 2021, then spent loan spells at Torino and Beerschot before signing permanently for Beerschot in 2023. Go Ahead Eagles bought him that same summer for a reported €400,000.
Since arriving in the Eredivisie, Baeten has been used mainly from the left but has featured across Go Ahead's forward line, and he has represented Belgium at youth level without yet earning a senior call-up.
Nothing is close to being finalised. ONE's report frames this as an opening round of contact rather than an agreed deal, and Go Ahead's rejection of the first proposal suggests Maccabi will need to sweeten their terms if they want to get a deal over the line.
