Maccabi Haifa have tied down one of their own academy products, confirming that midfielder Amit Arzi has signed a new long-term contract with the club, ONE reports.
The deal is for two years with a club option for a further two, keeping Arzi, 21, in green through at least the 2027-28 season.
Arzi joined Maccabi Haifa's youth setup at the age of eight and worked his way through every age group before breaking into senior football roughly two years ago. Last season he went out on loan to Hapoel Kfar Saba, one of Haifa's partner clubs in the second tier, where he played regular first-team minutes and, by the club's own account, impressed enough to earn a route back.
"Maccabi is my home since I was a small child," Arzi said after putting pen to paper. "I'm thrilled to sign a long-term contract and will do everything to prove myself and help the team achieve its goals."
Professional manager Lior Rafalov praised the progress Arzi has shown. "Amit is in an excellent growth process," Rafalov said. "In his last two years in the youth ranks he stood out especially, and last season, as part of our cooperation with Hapoel Kfar Saba, he played a full season at a high level. He's come back stronger, and his performances in training are impressing us a great deal."
The new contract comes after a turbulent stretch for the player last year, when a proposed loan move to Liga Leumit side Bnei Reineh broke down over playing-time guarantees, sending him to Kfar Saba instead. That episode ultimately worked in his favour: the extra senior football appears to have convinced the Sammy Ofer Stadium hierarchy he is ready to be part of their long-term planning rather than moved on.
For a club that has built its recent transfer strategy on selling academy graduates for significant fees, keeping Arzi under contract also protects his value — whether that means a role in Haifa's own squad this season or, eventually, another loan spell with first-team minutes elsewhere.
