Maccabi Haifa have tied down one of their own academy graduates, confirming that midfielder Amit Arazi has signed a new contract that runs for two years with the club holding an option for a further two, ONE reports.
It is a reward for patience on both sides. Arazi, a defensive midfielder who wears the No. 31 shirt, joined Maccabi Haifa's youth setup at the age of eight and worked his way through every rung of the club's development ladder before breaking into the senior squad roughly two years ago.
Last season he was sent out on loan to Hapoel Kfar Saba, where he picked up regular first-team minutes that the Haifa hierarchy believes have sharpened him into a more complete player.
"Maccabi is my home since I was a small child," Arazi said after putting pen to paper. "I'm very excited to sign a long-term contract, and I'll do everything I can to prove myself and help the team achieve its goals."
The club's professional director, Lior Refaelof, credited the loan move for accelerating the 21-year-old's progress. He said Arazi had shown "excellent growth" during his time away and returned to Haifa a sharper player, adding that the club was "very satisfied with the ability he displayed in training camp" ahead of the new season.
The new deal ends any lingering uncertainty over his future, after Arazi had been the subject of loan interest from other Israeli clubs in the past. For Maccabi Haifa, keeping him in-house fits a broader pattern this summer of prioritizing academy graduates as the squad is reshaped under Slobodan Drapic.
