Maccabi Haifa Signs Serbian-American Forward Andrea Novakovic on Two-Year Deal

Maccabi Haifa has officially signed 29-year-old Serbian-American forward Andrea Novakovic to a two-year contract. Novakovic, who recently played for Serie B club Reggina in Italy, passed his medical tests and joined coach Barak Bachar's squad ahead of the upcoming season. His annual salary is reported to be 300,000 euros. Novakovic is the tenth foreign player to join Maccabi Haifa this season.

Standing 1.92 meters tall, Novakovic has a diverse playing history including stints at Reading in England, Telstar in the Netherlands, and several Italian clubs such as Venezia, Frosinone, and Bari. He has also represented the United States national team, earning three senior caps and seven appearances with the youth teams, scoring twice at the youth level.

His most prolific season was in 2017/18 with Telstar, where he scored 22 goals and provided four assists. In 2020/21 at Frosinone, he netted 11 goals and assisted five times. Last season at Reggina, Novakovic scored five goals and assisted once in 33 appearances. Although he was under contract for another year with Reggina, he mutually agreed to terminate the deal and joined Maccabi Haifa on a free transfer.

Notably, Novakovic declined an offer from Hapoel Tel Aviv last summer, seeking a more attractive opportunity, which he ultimately found with Maccabi Haifa. Upon signing, Novakovic expressed excitement about joining a "great club" and looks forward to meeting the fans at Sammy Ofer Stadium.