Hatem Abd Elhamed says Celtic talks distracted him from playing | OneFootball

Hatem Abd Elhamed joined Celtic from Hapoel Be’er Sheva in a £1.6m move and detailed how he forced his way into the Scottish giants.

The 28-year-old skipped out on the Israeli side’s Europa League qualifier against Laci for a number of reasons – the first being that he could not concentrate on playing while the deal was getting done.

In addition, the Israel international also claimed that Celtic would not have agreed to the move if he played, as he would have been cup-tied and ineligible to play in further European competition.

In an interview with the Scottish Sun, Elhamed revealed that instead of trying to hide the reasons behind his absences, he decided to tell his manager and the owner the truth.

“The owner, Alona Barkat, also was far from happy. But I couldn’t lie and say I was injured or sick, I just had to tell the truth.

“I then had to wait a further two weeks before the move was completed, so I was very scared it fell through.

“On the one hand, I desperately wanted to play for Celtic, but on the other hand I didn’t want to let down all the Be’er Sheva fans who had fallen in love with me and had an excellent relationship with.

“They treated me like a king. My head was gone and I couldn’t function because of the pressure of the decision. I knew I would be of no use to the team that night.”

Elhamed has already broken into the Celtic first-team, making five starts and contributing an assist.