Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, 10:27 / Updated on Wednesday, 21 January 2026 10:27
striker Gabriel Debeljuh (29 years old) reached an agreement in principle with Galati Steel. In the midst of a sharp battle for the last play-off places, Oțelul strengthened with the Croatian top, the last time at SEPS Saint George.
Debeljuh was out of contract from April 2025, after parting with Covasneni, and now he returns to force qualification in the play-off alongside Oțelul, according to journalist Emanuel Roșu.
The Croat was fired from the Covasna club at the request of Dorinel Munteanu, the team's coach at the time.
Gabriel Debeljuh, Paulinho's replacement at Oțelul Galati
Debeljuh he hasn't played an official match since April 12, 2025, when Sepsi lost at home to those from Farul Constanța, score 1-4.
The Croatian comes to the Steel as the team coached by Laszlo Balint sold their main striker this winter. The Portuguese Paulinho was transferred to Poland, to Wieczysta Krakow, a second-tier team, for 200,000 euros.
Throughout his career, Debeljuh played in Italy at Piacenza, Mantova, before arriving in Romania in 2019 at Hermannstadt. In Sibiu he played 32 matches, during which he scored 13 goals.
At CFR Cluj he scored 24 goals in 72 matches between 2020 and 2023 and won two championship titles in League I and a Romanian Supercup.
And in Sepsi's shirt he scored 11 times in 43 matches. The club from Covas was surprisingly relegated to League 2 at the end of last season. In Galați, Debeljuh would compete for the post with Patrick, the top from the Cape Verde islands.
Oțelul debuted in 2026 with a failure, 0-1 on CFR Cluj's field. They are in 7th place in the Superliga, with 33 points, 3 behind UTA Arad, a team in the last play-off position.
400,000 eurosit's Gabriel Debeljuh's quota, according to Transfermarkt
I didn't fire Debeljuh, but the coach! I said I agree with the coach's decisions.
It's not my job to send players off, but I respect the coaches' decisions and that's it
– Laszlo Dioszegithe patron saint of Sepsis, in April 2025
