​Bristol City have completed the signing of Romanian defender Lisav Eissat from Maccabi Haifa for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract. The 21-year-old becomes the Robins’ fifth addition of the summer under new head coach Michael Skubula, following the arrivals of Jed Wallace, Gibson Yah, Sam Greenwood, and Sam Tickle. Eissat rose through Maccabi Haifa’s academy and has made 33 first-team appearances for the Israeli club. He also spent a period on loan with Hapoel Hadera during the 2024-25 season. Internationally, he has been capped four times by Romania, most recently in a friendly 2-1 victory at home against Wales.
Bristol City have also announced Stevenage’s Banfield as assistant manager. The club’s pursuit of Eissat reflected genuine interest, according to Skubala, who believes that the experience of English football will benefit the young defender. Eissat is capable of playing at both centre-back and left-back, providing valuable flexibility for the squad. Skubala said: “It is really pleasing to bolster our defence, especially with a player who can perform in more than one position.” Sport­ing director James Ellis added: “Bringing Lisav to Bristol City is about enhancing squad depth, versatility, physicality, and the overall potential of our back line.”