Hapoel Haifa have called up free-agent winger Jayden Braaf for a trial, with the Dutchman set to be run out in a Toto Cup fixture against Ironi Kiryat Shmona while the club takes a close look before deciding whether to offer him a contract, ONE reported.
The 23-year-old was one of the most hyped young talents to emerge from Manchester City's academy in the late 2010s, prized enough that several major European clubs were said to be circling before he even turned 18. He eventually left City on a free transfer for Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Injuries disrupted his development in Germany and he never established himself in Dortmund's first team. What followed was less a breakout and more a tour of loan spells: a loan at Udinese in Serie A, then a move to Hellas Verona, first on loan and then on a permanent deal reportedly worth around €1 million.
Verona did not work out either. Braaf was farmed out again, to Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard back in his native Netherlands and then to Serie B club Salernitana, before Hellas Verona terminated his contract by mutual consent on 1 September 2025.
He has been without a club for almost a year since - a striking fall for a player who came through the youth systems at Ajax and PSV Eindhoven before Manchester City signed him at 15, and who won the UEFA European Under-17 Championship with the Dutch national team in 2019.
For Hapoel Haifa, the move carries little risk. Braaf is a free agent, and a look at him in a Toto Cup match costs nothing beyond finding out whether the winger, still only 23, has anything left to offer an Israeli top-flight side hunting for attacking depth.
Nothing has been signed, and ONE's report stops short of promising a contract will follow the trial - but the fact that Haifa are giving him a run against Kiryat Shmona suggests the club believes there is still enough talent there to be worth the look.
