Portsmouth, Sunderland and Ipswich-linked striker stalling on new St Johnstone contract

And boss Callum Davidson has conceded there's a strong chance the Israeli will leave the Saints this summer.

Melamed joined the Scottish Premiership outfit from Maccabi Netanya in October, signing a one-year deal.

He's been a key player, scoring seven goals in 20 appearances as St Johnstone are set for a mid-table finish.

Last month, online reports linked Pompey - along with League One rivals Sunderland and Ipswich - with the forward.

Melamed has been offered 'a very good contract' to extend his stay at McDiarmid Park.

But Davidson admits the 28-year-old's future is out of the Saints' hands.

He told The Courier: ‘We’ve offered him a very good contract and his agent just wants to wait and see.

‘That’s all we can do. We can’t offer money that’s not there for somebody. We have a budget, it’s been a difficult time with Covid and we’ve offered him a really good deal. The agent has said he’ll wait and see and that’s where we are.

‘Obviously we can’t be paying out ridiculous money – that’s not what St Johnstone does and we can’t afford it. But there are other players out there that we’ll find and have a look at in case he doesn’t stay.

‘Would we like him to stay? The answer is yes but we might be out priced. The fact he’s done so well has probably not helped our cause.

‘He’s performed and scored goals at really important times this season. It’s a tough one. I knew when he came in that we might only get a year out of him.

‘The one thing none of us knew the extent of was Covid. He didn’t get a pre-season and he missed a lot of football and it took him a long time to adapt to the Scottish league.

‘I still think there’s more to come from Guy if he has a pre-season with us. It’s probably out of our hands at the moment.’