Former Inglewood United junior Nikita Rukavytsya has signed a three-year contract with Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa.   It is understood the 28-year old attacker joins Maccabi after finishing as the equal second top scorer in the 2015/16 Premier League with Beitar Jerusalem.

Rukavytsya, whose wife is Israeli, scored 14 goals to guide Beitar to third place last season.   “I am very pleased to join a large club in Israel,” Rukavytsya told the Maccabi website.   “Maccabi Haifa is a club that I love and have been waiting to join.”

Maccabi manager Danny Levy is delighted to have signed Rukavytsya.   “Nikita is an excellent player we have followed for a long time,” Levy said.   “We chose him not only because of the skills on the field, but also because of his personality.   He wanted very much to play for Maccabi Haifa.”

Ukraine-born Rukavytsya played locally for Inglewood and Perth SC as a teenager before embarking on a professional career that’s seen him play in Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.   He has 13 Socceroos caps to his name but hasn’t featured for the national team since October 2013.