Roei Zahavi, a 21-year-old left back who spent last season with Beitar Haifa, has signed for CS Păulești of Romania's third-tier Liga III, ONE reports.
The one-year deal was arranged through his representative, the Israeli attorney and agent Shai Avni, taking Zahavi three divisions below the Romanian top flight but into a dressing room that already has a distinctly Israeli flavour.
Păulești, based in Prahova County, already carries two Israeli passport holders on its books: 20-year-old defender Ohad Portman, who joined the club earlier this year, and 21-year-old midfielder Niv Levi. With Zahavi's arrival, the club will field three Israeli-citizenship players next season, according to the report.
All three qualify to play in Romania on dual nationality rather than as foreign imports, a route a number of young Israelis without a foothold at home have used in recent years to keep their careers alive in European football.
Zahavi's path to this point has run through several of Israel's development leagues rather than a flagship academy. ONE traces his youth career through Hapoel Matar Asher, Hapoel Mishgav, Hapoel Hadera and Maccabi Tzur Shalom before he broke into senior football with Beitar Haifa.
Financial terms were not disclosed, and neither Păulești nor Beitar Haifa has issued a formal statement beyond the ONE report — typical for a move at this level of the football pyramid, where lower-league transfers rarely come with a press conference.
For Zahavi, the switch offers a route to regular senior minutes and a foothold in a European league system, even three tiers down, at an age when Israeli defenders outside the top division often find their options narrowing fast.
