Guy Melamed has said his St Johnstone farewells but Perth boss Callum Davidson is maintaining a stance of ‘never say never’.
The Israeli took to Instagram to thank Saints supporters in the wake of his decision to move on from McDiarmid Park after contract negotiations failed to bear fruit.
Davidson, who wanted to put on record his appreciation of the 28-year-old’s contribution to an incredible season for the club, has seen some unexpected twists and turns in football down the years, though.
So he hasn’t yet reached the stage of totally dismissing the prospect of talks being resurrected.
And the original offer made to the former Maccabi Netanya forward hasn’t been withdrawn.
“I would like to thank Guy for all his efforts last season,” said Davidson.
“All credit to him as a man coming over during Covid and having to live in isolation and play football.
“It must have been an extremely difficult time for Guy.
“He could have been tempted to down tools in those early months and look to head back home.
“But once he had settled in some of his performances, particularly in January and February, were fantastic.
“He was desperate to get into the team and he scored some vital goals for us.
“We made him a very good offer to stay but his agent has said he will wait and see.
“It’s unfortunate we haven’t been able to come to an agreement.
“We have to move on but things can change quickly in football.
“Right now the offer is still there if Guy changes his mind and decides he wants to play for us next season.”
The chances of full-back James Brown being a Saints player next season are far higher.
“James is keen to come back and negotiations are continuing,” Davidson reported.
“Contracts run differently in England so things work at different speeds.
“We have a lot of targets after losing three or four from last season.
“There are a lot of good players available and it is about making sure we get the right ones.
“We also want to develop some of the younger players here.”
