Hapoel Be'er Sheva invested most of its purchasing budget this season in the Kosovar striker Estrit Salmani, for which it paid about one million euros to Hamerby of Sweden.
Coach Eliniv Berda chose him from among quite a few strikers he saw, and in internal conversations explained the choice: "He is a goal scorer, but also works on the field and fits what I want."
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Negev, Masalmani receives, as players in the team say, "a trickle of goals", while the 25-year-old also invests a lot in training, to try to get back into scoring form.
On the various scouting websites, the index is that Salmani needs more than five situations to score, and so far he has two goals in all formats in 13 appearances.
It is important to note that the striker also has two assists: one league goal against Hapoel Tel Aviv, and another important one against Swiss Lugano in the Conference League qualifiers.
Salmani grew up and played in Sweden and made his jump in Vorbergs and Ammarby, when in these two teams he scored 53 goals.
In the meantime, it's getting more difficult in BSH, but the club shows patience towards him, since this is the first time he plays outside of Sweden.
"It's not easy for a player to come to another country, not everyone gets acclimated within a month. He gets into situations, and we saw that he missed against Lech Poznan and Hapoel Haifa, but he does a lot of work and believes that in the end it will pay off for him."
Salmani (right) is supported by Suleimanov and the whole group, photo: Alan Shiver
In the meantime, the Euro 2024 qualifying draw invited the Kosovo team to the Israel team, which has a Salmani game in its ranks.
"He is one of the team's pioneers and one of the best," says Kosovar journalist Margim Rakai, who knows the player well and covered him for the "Gazeta Blik" website in his homeland.
"However, Kosovo's leading striker is Vadat Moriki, who excels in Mallorca."
In Kosovo they still
support him in Kosovo following the striker's season in Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and Rakai also admits: "Salmani had a fantastic time in Sweden, especially in Vorbergs and Ammarbi, where he scored almost 50 goals over two seasons. He is not in shape this season in Israel, but I am convinced that he will soon be will return to his good form.
"I believe he will be invited by coach Alain Giers for two games against Israel, because he knows a lot about Israeli football and can help Kosovo in this matter. We all trust his abilities, but of course all football players have a decline in fitness at one time or another. Salmani He will contribute a lot to Hapoel BS, and we hope to the Kosovo team as well."
As mentioned, in Beer Sheva for the time being they are being patient with their acquisition striker at least as in his homeland, but it is also clear to the player himself that a striker is measured in numbers, certainly when it comes to a foreign player who should significantly upgrade the attack squad.
Salmani with Breda.
will get more minutes?
In the group stages of the Conference League, Beer Sheva needs goals like air to breathe.
They have not scored in two out of three games so far, and tonight they must beat Lech Poznan at home to keep a good chance of moving up from second place.
On the other hand, Salmani was not a partner against Austria Wien in the first match, playing only 56 minutes as a substitute against Villarreal and another 26 minutes only in Poznan.
In Be'er Sheva they made it clear that to play more you need to bring numbers as well.
That's the whole story.
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