Atletico Ottawa Adds Attacker Amaury Escoto

Reigning Canadian Premier League champions Atletico Ottawa hopes to keep its attack sharp approaching the tail end of the season, bringing in Mexican forward Amaury Escoto on a free transfer.

The 33-year-old veteran arrives on a contract that includes a club option for a further year, donning the number nine kit for Ottleti last worn by lethal striker Samuel Salter.

The Jalisco, Mexico-born attacker has spent nearly the ntirety of his career in Mexico, most recently representing Tepatitlan. Having played for 12 clubs throughout his career – including Queretaro, Puebla, Celaya, and Juarez, amongst others – he’s made 125 appearances in Mexico’s top flight, racking up 16 goals there.

In the second division, where he now arrives in Canada from, he has 34 goals in 82 appearances.

His time with Tepatitlan saw him contribute nine goals in 19 appearances, so it’s looking like the 33-year-old still has a good amount of gas in the tank.

“Amaury brings a level of experience that is hard to find, particularly with the amount of time he has spent playing at the highest level,” says Atletico Ottawa CEO Manuel Vega.

“He has proven himself in a highly competitive environment, and we believe his knowledge of the game, character, and skill will be valuable assets to this group. Just as importantly, we believe he can share that experience with our young players, which is an important part of the legacy we want to build at Atletico Ottawa.”

Escoto says he aims to help the club as much as possible through the final stretch of the season, and hopefully lift the North Star Cup at the end of it. Atletico Ottawa are on track for playoffs, though it’s not looking like TD Place will host the final this time around.

“I am very excited for this new chapter in my career,” adds Escoto. “I have heard great things about the growing soccer culture in Canada, and the success of Atletico Ottawa.”

Having fallen 3-0 to Forge last weekend, the club is hoping to bounce back against an FC Supra du Quebec side that had beaten the capital city club in the Canadian Championship not long ago.

Escoto will be eligible to make his debut in the league-based rematch this Sunday, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Mexican reinforcement hits the ground running.

With Forge adding Manjrekar James and Cavalry recruiting Hassan Ayari, the top three CPL clubs are showing no signs of slowing down as the season enters its final stretch of matches.