Former St Johnstone forward Guy Melamed is in advanced talks with two sides in his native Israel over a possible move back to his homeland this summer, according to The Herald.

Melamed has been a player in demand this summer following his impressive run of form for St Johnstone in Scotland last term where he managed to fire in five goals in his 18 league appearances.

It has been previously reported that all three of Portsmouth, Sunderland and Ipswich Town have been interested in making a potential move for the forward this summer. That came with the 28-year-old only having a short-term contract with St Johnstone and with him set to leave the Scottish club during the transfer window.

St Johnstone had been keeping the door open for the forward to make a return to the club this summer, but it now seems according to The Herald that he is going to opt to return back to Israel instead of staying in British football.

It is believed that the 28-year-old is now in advanced talks with two sides in his homeland and that he looks set to seal a move to one of those in the near future.

The verdict

This is a blow for the likes of Portsmouth, Sunderland and Ipswich this summer and the forward could have been good pick-up for any of those three sides especially with him being available on a free transfer. However, he has never played in the English third tier before so there was no guarantee he would have been able to hit the ground running and fire one of them to promotion.

Melamed is a player that showed his quality for St Johnstone and looked like someone who could maybe make a name for himself in English football. However, it seems like the chance to return to his native Israel is going to be too good for him to turn down and that is understandable.

Sunderland, Portsmouth and Ipswich are now going to have to move on to assess other potential targets they can bring in to strengthen their attacking options. All three could do with added firepower upfront and that is why it is a blow for them that Melamed looks to have slipped through their fingers this summer.