Maccabi Herzliya are reshaping their squad for the coming Liga Leumit season, and ONE reports the club has completed the signing of Nigerian forward Emmanuel Apeh, who returns to Israeli football for a second stint after a brief spell at M.S. Kiryat Yam.
Apeh, 29, spent last season with Kiryat Yam, where he scored three goals, following a well-travelled career that took him through the Spanish lower divisions with clubs including Alcalá, Lorca and Celta Vigo's reserves, before spells in Azerbaijan and with Al Ittihad Alexandria in Egypt. His move to Herzliya was brokered through agent Yaron Barnes, according to the report.
The more eye-catching piece of business, however, is between the posts. ONE reports that goalkeeper Sean Ben Nesher is set to return to Herzliya after a season on loan at Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he served as third-choice keeper behind the club's senior options and saw little first-team action.
Ben Nesher, still only 20, came up through Maccabi Haifa's youth ranks before moving on to Hapoel Akko and then Herzliya, where he spent two seasons establishing himself as a regular before signing with Hapoel Tel Aviv alongside fellow youngster Itay Shavit. According to the report, the goalkeeper opted to return to Herzliya in search of genuine playing time as a No. 2, rather than remain a bit-part figure in Tel Aviv.
Herzliya have also brought in a second goalkeeper, Matan Zalmanovich, to fill the void left by Tal Bomstein, who is taking a break from football, ONE reports. Zalmanovich joins after three years with Ironi Kiryat Shmona and has previous top-flight experience with Nes Ziona and Hapoel Kfar Kassem; his move was arranged through agent Noam Markowitz.
Elsewhere in the same report, Hapoel Kfar Kassem have loaned in 18-year-old forward Ravid Ulitzky from Hapoel Tel Aviv's youth system. Ulitzky scored 11 league goals in the youth ranks last season, including what ONE describes as a hat-trick winner in a derby, and will now be reunited with Shahar Wizinger, his former youth coach, at Kfar Kassem. The move was arranged through agent Adam Kidan.
None of the deals carry reported contract lengths or fees, and Liga Leumit clubs typically finalise this kind of squad business through the closing weeks of the summer. Herzliya finished last season needing a promotion-relegation playoff to preserve their second-tier status, drawing 1-1 with Hapoel Kfar Saba in that decider, so both goalkeeping depth and fresh attacking options will be closely watched heading into the new campaign.
