Following a successful six-month spell on the south coast, Israeli national team goalkeeper Daniel Peretz has joined Southampton on a permanent deal.
Peretz has signed a four-year contract, which starts on 15 June, for a fee reported to be around €7 million (£6.05m), the club confirmed.
The Tel Aviv native said that he is “super excited” to be joining the Saints, adding: “For the last few months this was my home, and we had so many good times and also some tense times, but even in the last few weeks with how we stayed together, you could really feel this home environment.
"That was, for me, the dealbreaker. It is my dream to play in the Premier League and on the highest stages in the world, but a bigger dream for me is to be there with Southampton. I really believe that we can be there and achieve that.”
Peretz, who has played 12 games for Israel – most recently keeping a clean sheet for half of the country’s 1-0 win over Albania in a friendly last week – left German giants Bayern Munich in January on loan.
The 6 ft 3 keeper joined as Southampton were languishing in 15th place in the Championship, with fans lamenting the club’s lack of a trustworthy option at the back during the poor first half of their season.
His arrival sparked a dramatic upturn in form, as he played every minute of a 21-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which peaked with a 2-1 victory over eventual Premier League champions Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Southampton eventually finished fourth in the league, after which they beat Middlesbrough in the play-off semi-final, before being kicked out of the final when their staff were caught spying on their opponents’ training sessions.
Despite the disappointing conclusion to the season, Saints fans put much of their good form down to Peretz’s presence between the sticks.
Comments from fans under the club’s Instagram post announcing his transfer were overwhelmingly positive. One called it the “signing of the season”, and another said that it is “fabulous news”. A third called him “Southampton’s Iron Dome”.
Southampton’s sporting director Johannes Spors said that they “knew about Daniel's qualities when we signed him on loan in January, and his impact on the team was clear for everybody to see”.
He continued: “He has a confidence in his own ability that transmits to the players in front of him. I had several conversations with Daniel after our season came to an end. It was clear throughout these discussions that he remained committed to us, even with other options on the table.
“We are delighted to welcome him back to Southampton on a long-term contract and determined to build on the successes we experienced together last season.”
Peretz is married to Israeli singer-songwriter Noa Kirel, who represented Israel in Eurovision in 2023, finishing third.
He grew up in Tel Aviv, in a family of mixed Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi descent, and joined the Maccabi Tel Aviv academy at the age of six.
His maternal cousins are professional footballers Dan, Tamir, and Amit Glazer; Dan has also featured for the Israeli national team.
Peretz spent the first half of the 2025/26 season at Hamburg, although he hardly featured for the side.
Prior to Bayern Munich, for whom he made seven appearances over two seasons, he spent four seasons at Maccabi Tel Aviv and one on loan at Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam, before the Bavarians spent over €5 million (£4.3m) to sign him.
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