Israel striker Elyaniv Barda has slammed his Belgian club Racing Genk for pricing him out of a transfer to the Premier League after demanding a £4 million transfer fee from Bolton.
"I think Genk went over the top," Barda said. "It could be they threw out a price so high I wouldn't leave because they really want me."
The 26-year-old former Hapoel Tel Aviv striker is best remembered for his goal in Israel's 2-1 victory over Russia last November in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, which would have put England in the finals had they not lost to Croatia.
Four Premier League players - Ben Sahar (Portsmouth), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool), Tal Ben Haim (Manchester City) and Tamir Cohen (Bolton), have been named in Israel's squad for next week's friendly in Finland.
Wigan's Dutch midfielder Daniel De Ridder opened the scoring in the 2-0 pre-season win over Utrecht.
Israeli starlet Eyal Golsa has been invited for a trial at Portsmouth. The 16-year-old midfielder impressed English scouts when playing for the national under-17 team in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland last month.
Golsa, who joined Maccabi Haifa earlier this year from youth team Betar Tobruk, made his debut for the Greens in their 1-1 draw against Betar Jerusalem in the Toto Cup last weekend.
Betar Jerusalem face an uncertain future after French midfield legend Luis Fernandez returned to the club as general manager. He he will work alongside current boss Yitzhak Shum.
Owner Arkady Gaydamak had been expected to fire Shum after last week's humiliating 5-0 defeat against Wisla Krakow, which saw the Israeli champions eliminated from the Champions League and miss out on a glamour tie against Barcelona. They had been 2-1 ahead after the first leg.
Shum and Fernandez - who last year managed Spanish top-flight outfit Real Betis - pledged to work together as Betar chase a hat-trick of league titles. "My authority won't be harmed," Shum said. "I'll be acting as a consultant," Fernandez stressed.
Betar striker Toto Tamuz has reportedly been invited for a trial with German giants Bayern Munich.
