Halifax Wanderers FC have signed former CF Montreal midfielder Sean Rea, who was named the Canadian Premier League's Best Canadian U-21 Player in 2022 while on loan to Valour FC.
Rea's contact with Halifax, which currently stands last in the eight-team CPL at 3-7-4, runs through the 2025 season.
"I'm super-excited," Rea said in an interview. "I've heard a lot of great things about Halifax. I've spoken to the coach (Patrice Gheisar) and he seems to be great. I'm looking forward to joining and making an impact and hopefully getting the team into the playoffs."
The former Canadian youth international delivers a fine set piece ball and can score goals as well as make them.
“I think our vision and philosophy of football really suit him," Gheisar said in a statement. "We feel very confident in the players that we have, but I think he’s going to complement our current group and add the magic of his end product of either scoring or assisting a goal."
In 2022, Rea set a CPL record for assists in a season with nine, while also scoring five goals. He also led the league in chances created with 71.
Rea was also nominated for the league’s Player of the Year Award, and was a finalist for the Players’ Player of the Year.
"I had a great time in Winnipeg. I have a lot of respect for them because they're the ones that jump-started my career," he said of his time with Valour.
A member of the CF Montreal academy since 2014, Rea signed as a homegrown player with the first team ahead of the 2021 season.
Rea spent the 2021 and 2022 campaigns on loan with Valour. He made 15 appearances, including seven starts, last season for Montreal, which did not exercise his option in December.
"Thank you to CF Montreal and their amazing fans for making my dream come true. On to the next chapter. Au revoir Montreal," he posted on social media two days later.
"It's my boyhood club so signing for them was a dream," he said in an interview.
Rea, 22, subsequently spent some a month in Spain with second-division CD Castellon but the move did not work out.
"In the few months that followed, I was getting lots of offers and evaluating those offers and made a decision to join Halifax because it was the one with the best project and something that aligned with what I wanted to do," he said.
Rea, who also has an Italian passport, only played in several friendlies for the Spanish side but said he is ready to play immediately.
"I can't wait … I'm ready, I'm fit," he said.
Halifax hosts Vancouver FC on Monday.
Castellon is owned by Winnipeg-born Bob Voulgaris, a professional poker player who spent time as director of quantitative research and development for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.
Internationally, Rea represented Canada at the 2019 FIFA Men's U-17 World Cup, coming off the bench against host Brazil and New Zealand.
Rea made his MLS debut for Montreal in February 2023, coming off the bench against Inter Miami. In April of that year, he scored his first goal for Montreal in a 2-0 win over Vaughan SC — Gheisar's former team — in the Canadian Championship, with a stylish left-footed shot through traffic off a corner.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press