Maccabi Haifa have made it official: goalkeeper Georgiy Yermakov is on his way out of the club, ONE reports, with his move to Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv now approaching its final stages.
The club's own send-off was brief and warm. "Thank you Giorgi! We wish you success on your way," Maccabi Haifa said in a statement carried by ONE, closing the book on a stay that lasted barely a year.
According to the report, Yermakov is due to undergo a medical early next week before putting pen to paper on his contract with Metalist. The formalities aside, the substance of the deal has already been thrashed out between the two clubs.
Yermakov arrived at Sammy Ofer Stadium in July 2025 from Oleksandriya for a modest fee of around €100,000, having just been named the outstanding goalkeeper of the 2024/25 Ukrainian Premier League season. Haifa saw him as a long-term successor between the posts; instead, he is leaving after a single campaign.
The numbers around the departure have shifted in the retelling. Ynet reported the Metalist deal is worth in the region of €4 million, including a sell-on percentage for Haifa on any future transfer, while Walla! Sport had earlier described the Israeli club demanding closer to €5 million against bids nearer €2.5 million before the two sides found common ground.
Walla! also reported that Yermakov himself pushed hard for the exit, telling owner Yaakov Shahar directly that he wanted to leave — and that, unlike in previous transfer windows, he was no longer ruling out a return to Ukrainian football to get it done.
Born in Kyiv in 2002, Yermakov moved to Israel with his family, who have Jewish roots, as the war with Russia unfolded, before rebuilding his career through Shakhtar Donetsk's system and then Oleksandriya on the way to his move to Haifa.
Maccabi Haifa are not left short-handed. The club has already lined up Omri Glazer to return from Red Star Belgrade, with Ynet reporting the Israeli international will undergo his own medical before signing a three-year contract in Haifa.
Glazer's homecoming carries its own history: he first played for Maccabi Haifa in the 2020/21 season under Barak Bakhar, the coach still in charge today, before moving on to Hapoel Beer Sheva and then to Red Star in 2023, where recent seasons had reduced him to a fringe role behind the Serbian club's first-choice goalkeeper.
With Yermakov's exit now confirmed and Glazer's return in motion, Haifa's goalkeeping department is being rebuilt around a familiar face just as pre-season preparations intensify.
