A month after his move to Inter Milan collapsed on the medical table, Anan Khalaili is closing in on a transfer to Crystal Palace — and this time it looks like it's actually happening. His representatives confirmed the deal to Walla on Sunday. The fee: €28 million ($32.5 million), which would make the 21-year-old Union SG winger the most expensive Israeli footballer in history.
That's not a small number for a player who was playing second-division football in Israel as recently as 2024. Khalaili's rise has been sharp — Maccabi Haifa's academy, a loan at Neve Yosef, a spell at Hapoel Hadera in the second division, then Belgium, then the Champions League. He scored against Marseille in December. Palace are paying €28 million for that trajectory, betting the ceiling is still a long way up.
What Khalaili gets walking into
Palace are not the mid-table outfit they were three years ago. They won the UEFA Conference League this season — their first European trophy, full stop — and will play Europa League football next year. For a winger who just turned 21, that's a serious platform. The jump from the Belgian Pro League to Europa League group stages in one move is steep, but Palace clearly think he can handle it.
He'll also be the only Israeli currently playing in the Premier League, carrying that weight with 16 senior international caps already banked. At his age, that's a considerable load alongside a record-breaking price tag. Palace's attacking depth and the way Oliver Glasner builds wide systems should suit him — but this is still a player who has never played a minute of Premier League football. The odds on him hitting the ground running deserve healthy skepticism.
Solomon heads the other direction
While Khalaili moves up, Manor Solomon is heading down a division. The winger is set to leave Tottenham for newly relegated West Ham in a deal worth £5 million ($6.7 million) plus £2 million in add-ons, with Spurs retaining a 10 percent sell-on clause — which tells you exactly what Tottenham think his ceiling still is.
Solomon spent last season on loan at Leeds, helped them get promoted to the Premier League, and is now joining a club that just went the other way. He signed a five-year, $15 million deal with Spurs in 2023 and barely featured for the first team. The Championship at West Ham is probably the right environment to rebuild some momentum, but the sell-on clause suggests Spurs aren't fully done with the idea of him.
- Khalaili fee: €28 million — record for an Israeli player
- Solomon transfer fee: £5 million plus £2 million in add-ons
- Tottenham retain a 10% sell-on clause on Solomon
- Khalaili has 16 caps for the Israeli national team
- Palace will compete in Europa League next season
Two Israeli players, two very different stories. One record fee pointing upward, one sell-on clause pointing toward unfinished business.
