Hapoel Be’er Sheva manager Barak Bakhar has confirmed Hatem Abd Elhamed is very close to signing for Celtic.

The Hoops are believed to have agreed a £1.6m fee for the 28-year-old, with the player able to play both right-back and centre-back.

Bakhar says that Abd Elhamed’s decision to join Celtic was a no-brainer, considering the size of the club and the wages he will be earning:

“It’s natural that Hatem will go to a big club like Celtic that pays him a lot of money.”

The Israeli is expected to sign a four-year contract worth £7,000 a week at Parkhead, with an option for a further year.

The deal is likely to be completed very soon as Abd Elhamed took no part in Be’er Sheva’s Europa League qualifier KF Laci earlier this week indicating that his departure is not far from being announced.

The defender got his first senior cap for Israel last month. He actually came on as a substitute to replace Nir Bitton in the 4-0 defeat to Poland in a Euro 2020 qualifier.