Barak Bachar's Maccabi Haifa returned to the Kfar Galim training ground on Thursday with two new faces on view for very different reasons — one working alone on the sidelines, the other already being fitted into the squad for Saturday's derby, ONE reports.
Nigel Lonwijk, the Dutch-Surinamese defender arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers, took part in his first session with his new teammates, but only in supervised running drills away from the main group. Sport5 and Sport1 reported Haifa had agreed a fee of around €500,000 with Wolves for the 23-year-old, who has had loan spells at Fortuna Sittard, Plymouth Argyle, Grasshopper Club Zürich, Wycombe Wanderers, Huddersfield Town and Luton Town since leaving PSV Eindhoven's academy for Wolverhampton in 2020.
The move had not been officially announced by Maccabi Haifa at the time of the report, and ONE says Lonwijk will not be considered for Saturday's Toto Cup opener given he only landed in Israel this week and is still completing his medical before putting pen to paper.
There was a more advanced case in the same session. Wanderson, the Brazilian left-back known throughout his career as 'Tsunami,' was named in Bachar's squad for the derby. Maccabi Haifa confirmed on July 19 that the 30-year-old, previously of Botafogo-PB and Cuiabá among other Brazilian clubs, had signed a two-year contract after passing his medical.
ONE reports Tsunami is a contender to feature from the opening whistle, either at left-back or as a third central defender, depending on how Bachar chooses to set up his back line against a Hapoel Haifa side eager to spoil the champions' season launch.
Saturday's Toto Cup Al fixture at Sammy Ofer Stadium doubles as the traditional Haifa derby and marks the official start of Maccabi Haifa's 2026/27 campaign — a fixture that rarely lacks needle regardless of the competition's lower stakes.
Not every regular was present on Thursday. Defenders Yarin Levi and Zohar Zaseno sat out the session while observing the Tisha B'Av fast, according to ONE's report from the training ground.
In goal, Omri Glazer is expected to continue as Bachar's first choice, with Gad Amos, who arrived from Tiberias, deputising as his backup heading into the derby.
For Bachar, Saturday offers the first live look at how his rebuilt back line functions under pressure. Tsunami's introduction is likely to say more about the manager's derby-day thinking than the still-settling Lonwijk, whose full debut looks a matter of when rather than if once his transfer is completed.
