Assi Set For Another Loan Spell In CPL – But With A New Team

CF Montreal attacker Jean-Aniel Assi showed spurts of flourish while on loan with Cavalry FC last year, making 21 appearances for the club in the 2022 CPL season.

Today, Atletico Ottawa announced that it has acquired the CF Montreal winger on a season-long loan, meaning the youngster will be suiting up for a new CPL side this year.

See Also: 2023 CPL Roster Tracker

Assi turned professional with CF Montreal academy in 2020 after progressing through the club’s academy ranks, making history as their youngest-ever player to debut for the club in a Champions League during a match against CD Olimpia in 2020.

His campaign with Cavalry saw him used as an off-the-bench option last year, so it’ll be interesting if he can carve out more minutes with last season’s regular season champions.

Born in Ivory Coast, Assi has called Quebec home since the age of ten and is on the Canadian national team radar. He cracked the roster for the Concacaf U-20 Championship, contributing one assist in three appearances.

While Assi featured on the right flank with Cavalry last year, Atletico Ottawa makes mention that he could feature on both wings along with his capability to be deployed as a right-sided full-back.

Alongside Zachary Roy, The CF Montreal youngster will also contribute to the club’s required allotment to give 2,000 domestic U-21 minutes, having contributed 789 for Cavalry last season.

The team still needs to add a third domestic U-21 player to be roster-compliant with CPL rules.

The Atletico Ottawa roster has seen a fair chunk of turnover after finishing as runners-up last year, with the team adding Karl Ouimette and Noah Verhoven after a number of departures in November.

He won’t be the first loanee to come through CF Montreal, with Keesean Ferdinand having spent a season at TD Place in 2021.

Both Sean Rea and Jonathan Sirois both spent two seasons on loan in the CPL from CF Montreal, though they’re both aiming to crack first team roster spots in preseason camp with their parnet club.

It is unclear if there is a recall clause in Assi’s loan, or if the youngster could suit up for Atletico Ottawa should the two meet in the Canadian Championship – though they’d both have to reach the semi-final stage for that to happen.