David Keltjens reveals the St Johnstone transfer pitch from McDiarmid Park hero that sold him on Perth

Debut goal hero David Keltjens says St Johnstone was his ticket out of Israel. Now he hopes his move to Perth can help drive him right back to his homeland - and into the national team.

Keltjens was snapped up by Craig Levein earlier this month after leaving Hapoel Tel Aviv last summer. The six-times capped Israel international revealed he had options to sign for other Israeli Premier League sides with Hapoel Haifa among the clubs offering a deal. But the midfielder was eager to try his luck out of his native country. And after marking his debut with a thundering headed equaliser in Wednesday’s draw with Aberdeen, the 28-year-old reckons he’s found the perfect home in Perth.

He said: “I could have signed for teams in Israel because I had many offers. But I felt it was my time to move on and try football somewhere else, like in Europe.

“I think it fits my game to come here, I think my qualities are suited to outside Israel too. Also I am not a kid any more, so if I had signed again for a team in Israel then it would be more difficult for me to play outside my country after that contract.

“So I decided to wait and see what came up. I trained with a private coach five days a week and put in a lot of work to stay fit. I waited for an opportunity like this to come along, now it has so I am happy.

“Do I think coming here will help me get back into the national team? We will see. Right now I just have to focus on my game, play well and help the team because when you do those things good things happen.”

Keltjens, who broke through at Beiter Jerusalem before moving to Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Tel Aviv, revealed he was sold on St Johnstone after a chat with ex-Perth Israeli star Guy Melamed.

He said: “I spoke with Guy because I also