Charlton have had a largely successful summer transfer period this year. Despite losing key players Patrick Bauer, Joe Aribo and Anfernee Dijksteel, Lee Bowyer and Steve Gallen have worked absolute wonders for the club and have been able to add 15 new players to the squad ahead of the 2019/20 Championship campaign.
One of those signings, in particular, caused a lot of excitement amongst the Charlton fanbase and that was former Celtic and current Brighton and Hove Albion player, Beram Kayal.
The 31-year-old midfielder joined the Addicks on transfer deadline day on a season-long loan, accompanied by fellow Seagulls and Israeli teammate Tomer Hemed, with the striker joining the club on a permanent basis.
Kayal was expected to hit the ground running right from the get-go, but he hasn’t had that opportunity yet thanks to arriving in SE7 with an injury. However, he was called up to the Israel national team during the international break and came off the bench in a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia and a 3-2 defeat with Slovenia.
This means that he will finally be available for selection, but what can we expect from Beram this season?
At 31 years old he’s a very experienced player. Having signed for Brighton in 2015, he has played 118 games for the Seagulls and scored four goals, whilst playing in both the Championship and the Premier League.
From what I’ve seen from him online, he’s going to excite a lot of people this season! He looks like an all-rounded player, with class in all areas of the field. His vision is excellent and he’s not afraid to get stuck in and make crunching challenges.
For a 31-year-old he’s got some speed about him, as well as some skill and craft, which he uses to get past defenders and drive the ball to create an attack.
What’s even better is that he came to Charlton with Tomer Hemed, a player who Kayal has played alongside throughout his career and at his time in the Israel national team. These two will be instrumental together and will link up very well in attacking chances. These two are inseparable and they’ll be a danger for our opposition this season.
Beram will be hoping to get his first taste of being a Charlton player this weekend against Birmingham City and I reckon he should be given a go. He’ll most likely be on the bench for the game, but I don’t expect him to be there for long. I think he should be a regular starter for us this season and he’ll be giving Sam Field and Darren Pratley some healthy competition the moment he steps out onto the pitch.
I can’t wait to see him in action and I doubt this will be the last time we here of Beram Kayal as a Charlton player.