Maccabi Haifa Faces Foreign Player Quota Issues Affecting Andrea Novakovic's Playtime

Maccabi Haifa played a training match against their youth team on August 13, winning 2-0, primarily to give striker Andrea Novakovic some game time. Novakovic, who recently recovered from a virus, appeared rusty, and it remains uncertain if he will feature in the upcoming Toto Cup match against Hapoel Jerusalem. The club hopes that Peter Agba, currently occupying a foreign player slot, will find a new team soon. However, Agba has so far refused loan offers from interested clubs, leaving Haifa's foreign player quota full and preventing Novakovic's registration.

In the same training match, Manuel Benson started and scored. Benson, who had limited impact last season and recently recovered from an Achilles injury, is being gradually integrated into the squad. The club is optimistic about his development and expects him to lead the team's attack this season.

Additionally, goalkeeper Omer Nir'on completed medical tests and is set to be officially presented as Maccabi Haifa's second-choice goalkeeper. He joins on loan from Maccabi Netanya for 100,000 euros, with a purchase option of 250,000 euros, and will earn approximately 150,000 euros annually.