Maccabi Tel Aviv appear to be targeting an American defender, and their pursuit has now reportedly extended to another MLS player.
The club, linked in June to D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum , are still linked to the US international, with a report on Sunday from Israeli site ONE saying negotiations have continued in recent weeks after initial offers were rejected.
But the latest report also noted that Maccabi and United appear to be apart in agreeing on a transfer fee for Birnbaum, who has drawn extensive transfer speculation from Europe this year. At various points, in addition to being connected to Maccabi Tel Aviv, he's been linked to another Israeli side, Maccabi Haifa, as well as German power Borussia Dortmund and Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven.
The 25-year-old is in his third season with D.C., and has broken through to be a member of the US national team this year.
If a deal for Birnbaum does not materialize, do Maccabi Tel Aviv have a backup plan? It appears they might, as they were also linked to LA Galaxy defender Daniel Steres in a separate report by ONE on Monday.
Steres, 25, is in his first season with the Galaxy's first team, after having played for LA Galaxy II in USL previously. He was previously a member of the Seattle Sounders, in 2012, but did not make any MLS appearances for that club. Steres has emerged this year as a regular starter for LA, playing in all but two regular-season games so far.
