Hapoel Jerusalem's summer rebuild has a new name attached to it: Itay Ahoud, the young Maccabi Haifa midfielder who has emerged as a target for the capital club as it looks to add depth before the new Ligat Ha'al season, ONE reports.
The interest is real, but the deal is not close. According to the report, Ahoud's move to Jerusalem cannot advance until Maccabi Haifa itself decides whether it even wants to loan the player out this season — a call the Haifa club has yet to make. Until then, Hapoel Jerusalem can only wait.
Ahoud, born on September 21, 2006, is one of Maccabi Haifa's own academy products and has been earmarked as a rare talent in the club's youth pipeline, having previously been named the club's outstanding player at youth level. He operates in central midfield, comfortable both screening the back four and stepping into possession.
He is not unfamiliar with senior football away from Haifa. Ahoud spent last season out on loan at Hapoel Kfar Saba, gaining regular first-team minutes, before returning to Sammy Ofer Stadium ahead of this campaign to compete for a place in the Haifa squad — which is precisely why the champions have been in no rush to sanction another loan.
For Hapoel Jerusalem, adding a combative young midfielder on loan would fit a squad still being reshaped after a difficult 2025/26 campaign, which ended with the club 12th and stuck in the bottom playoff group.
Part of that reshaping was enforced rather than chosen. Ziv Arie, the coach most closely identified with Hapoel Jerusalem over the past seven years, left the club in the spring and signed a one-year deal to take charge of Maccabi Petah Tikva in May.
The two clubs' paths are about to cross again regardless of how the Ahoud pursuit plays out. Hapoel Jerusalem are due to face Maccabi Petah Tikva in the Toto Cup, which will mark Arie's first game back against his former team since the split.
The club has chosen not to mark the occasion with a farewell ceremony at that fixture, judging a Toto Cup tie too low-key an occasion for a coach it regards as one of the defining figures in its recent history. Jerusalem instead intend to honour Arie properly at a league match later in the season, when the stadium is fuller and the stakes are higher.
