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In another four days, Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club will kick off their new season in the Israeli Premier League. As good a time as any to review some of the changes the team have undergone during the summer months

Once the debris of the season 2012/13 championship celebrations had been cleared from Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, and the euphoria surrounding it had made its way into the club's history books, Maccabi Tel Aviv began their preparations for a new and exciting season. After four official matches in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League, the reigning Israeli champions will begin their 2013/14 campaign to defend their title this Saturday with an away match at Hapoel Acre. But before they do, let's review some of the changes that have been made to the squad during the summer and have a look at the new Maccabi Tel Aviv that will embark on a season-long effort to retain the championship.

The first changes that began to take place started immediately after the end of the season with the decision of last season's head coach, Oscar Garcia, to leave the club, and afterwards the arrival on a two-year contract of his replacement, the Portuguese skipper Paulo Sousa. He was joined by three more new members of the professional staff: Assistant head coach and fitness coach Nacho Torenno, assistant head coach Victor Sanchez and analyst Manuel Cordeiro.

Among the prominent players leaving the club was the team's top goal-scorer last season, striker Eliran Atar, who will begin his European adventure at the French side Rheims. He was joined by last season's first-choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, who returned from his loan deal to his parent club Lille, also in France. There the two have already clashed swords, as Atar's Rheims defeated Enyeama's Lille by a score of 2-1. Two other players who left the champions in the summer and were reunited were midfielder Gonzalo Garcia and the striker Roberto Collauti, who have both joined (Garcia on loan) Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta, a team that boasts two more Israeli footballers, former Beitar Jerusalem striker Amit Ben Shoshan and midfielder Moshe Ohayon.

The new faces at the club are quite evenly divided among the positions on the pitch: one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and two strikers. Goalkeeper Juan Pablo and defender Manuel Ortiz (Mane) were brought in from Spain (Sporting Gijon and Getafe respectively) to beef up the Maccabi defence, along with defender Omri Ben Harush, who joined from local side Maccabi Netanya. The midfield has been strengthened with Ironi Kiryat Shmoni's Dan Einbinder, Fulham's Omri Altman (on loan) and the Serbian Nikola Mitrovich, who arrived from Hungarian side Videoton. The Maccabi attack has been bolstered by the return of striker Barak Yitzchaki from his successful loan spell at Anorthosis, where he scored 13 goals in 23 appearances last season. He will be joined in attack by Tal Ben Haim, who crossed Tel Aviv's colour divide from Hapoel's red to Maccabi's yellow.

Here follows a full list of Maccabi Tel Aviv's summer transfers:

Out: Vincent Enyeama (goalkeeper, Lille), Avi Struhl (defender, Ironi Ramat Hasharon), Gonzalo Garcia (midfielder, Anorthosis Famagusta – loan), Robert Collauti (striker, Anorthosis Famagusta), Eliran Atar (striker, Rheims), Ignacio Fideleff (defender, Atletico Tigre), Eli Zizov (striker, released)

In: Juan Pablo (goalkeeper, Sporting Gijon), Manuel Ortiz (defender, Getafe), Omri Ben Harush (defender, Maccabi Netanya), Yagil Biton (defender, returned from loan), Dan Einbinder (midfielder, Ironi Kiryat Shmona), Nikola Mitrovich (midfielder, Videoton), Omri Altman (midfielder, Fulham – on loan), Barak Yitzchaki (striker, returned from loan), Tal Ben Haim (striker, Hapoel Tel Aviv)

Click here for a complete look at the Maccabi Tel Aviv season 2013/14 squad