Maccabi Haifa have moved to add depth between the posts, agreeing a loan deal for Maccabi Netanya goalkeeper Omer Niraon, ONE reported in a first-publication story on Wednesday, ending weeks of back-and-forth negotiation between the two clubs.
According to the report, Haifa will take the 25-year-old on loan and hold a purchase option worth 1.4 million shekels, exercisable at the end of the current season should the club wish to make the move permanent.
The move ends a two-and-a-half-year stay at Netanya, where Niraon arrived in January 2024 and established himself as a regular in goal, most recently drawing interest from a Haifa side reshaping its goalkeeping department this summer.
At Sammy Ofer Stadium he is expected to serve as understudy to Omri Glazer, who rejoined Maccabi Haifa this summer after a spell with Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and signed a three-year contract at the club where his career began. Niraon slots in as the clear second-choice goalkeeper in the squad coach Barak Bachar is assembling for the new campaign.
The reshuffle in goal follows Haifa's sale of Ukrainian goalkeeper Giorgi Yarmakov earlier in the transfer window, which left the club needing to settle both its starting and back-up options before the season gets under way.
Niraon's path to Maccabi Haifa has run through several clubs. He came up through the youth ranks at Maccabi Tel Aviv, Shimshon Tel Aviv and Maccabi Herzliya before joining Bnei Yehuda at 16, making his senior debut in 2018 and becoming the club's first-choice goalkeeper in the 2020-21 season, the year Bnei Yehuda were relegated.
Loan spells followed at Hapoel Rishon LeZion, Hapoel Ramat HaSharon and Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar before he settled at Netanya. He has also worn the Israel jersey, featuring in goal for the national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
ONE's report does not detail any compensation to Netanya beyond the loan structure, and neither club has yet issued an official statement confirming the deal.
