Hapoel Tel Aviv have quietly opened a trial for a free-agent left back, giving Bilal Shaheen a run in a red shirt this week as the club searches for cover at a position that has become a genuine concern heading into Europe.
Shaheen, 23, has trained with the first team since earlier this week after his contract at Ironi Kiryat Shmona expired at the end of last season, leaving him without a club. According to Sport5, the arrangement is a straightforward mutual look — a chance for Eliniv Barda's coaching staff to assess him before any commitment is made, with no final decision yet taken.
The vacancy exists because Hapoel are still waiting on their preferred option. Yahav Gorfinkel, who starred for the club before moving abroad, remains under contract to AEK Larnaka in Cyprus and has not resolved whether he will leave the club to return to Tel Aviv. That uncertainty has pushed the technical staff to widen the search rather than sit and wait.
The immediate need is depth behind Doron Leidner, the incumbent left back who returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv on loan from Olympiacos last year. Leidner's history of fitness problems is part of why the club wants a proven alternative in reserve rather than relying on academy cover alone.
Shaheen's situation makes him an attractive stopgap even without a transfer fee changing hands. Because he came through Kiryat Shmona's own development pathway and is currently a free agent, Hapoel would owe the northern club only a modest training-compensation payment rather than negotiate a fee, should the trial turn into a contract.
The timing adds pressure to reach a verdict quickly. Hapoel Tel Aviv open their Conference League third qualifying round away — though effectively at a neutral Hungarian venue — against GKS Katowice on Thursday, hosting the first leg at DVTK Stadium in Miskolc before travelling to Poland for the return fixture on August 12.
For now, Shaheen remains an trialist rather than a squad member, and Sport5's report gives no indication he will be involved in the Katowice tie either way. The club's stance, as relayed by the outlet, is that this is impression-gathering rather than a done deal, with the final call resting on how he performs in training over the coming days.
Whether Hapoel ultimately turn to Shaheen may hinge less on his own audition than on Gorfinkel's decision in Cyprus — a call the club is still waiting on as their European campaign approaches.
