Cavalry FC Confirms Escalante Loan

Nearly a full month after Honduran side Club Deportivo Y Social Vida welcomed Jose Escalante to their Liga Nacional team, Canadian Premier League Cavalry FC has officially announced the loan move.

The 25-year-old midfielder was a polarizing figure during the inaugural Canadian Premier League campaign, where he contributed seven assists and four goals across thirty appearances for the Alberta-based side.

The number of fouls he accumulated made him the so-called ‘bad boy’ of the league, a title that Joseph Di Chiara seems to have usurped during Escalante’s absence in the 2020 season.

The fast-footed winger was based in the United States at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was prevented from entering the country in time to participate in the Charlottetown-based bubble tournament this year.

Prior to re-signing with the side back in February, Escalante had made it no secret that he was looking for a move in his native Honduras: he felt playing back at home would give him the best shot at national team recognition, with the current loan move now representing the best of both worlds for both Cavalry FC and Escalante.

As the midfielder had previously stated, the loan move will see him through the domestic season in Honduras, with the Cavalry FC man set to return to his parent club in the new year well ahead of the expected 2021 Canadian Premier League preseason.

This was an opportunity that makes sense for Jose, given the unfortunate inability for him to get into Canada this year as a result of the pandemic and border closures.  Playing games in his domestic league in Honduras with Vida will keep him sharp and ready to return to our Cavalry colours once again for 2021.

Tommy Wheeldon Jr.

Escalante is one of two Cavalry FC players who have public overseas plans for the long Canadian offseason, with 17-year-old teenager Aribim Pepple set for a trial period with English Premier League side Sheffield United in the near future. This week, OneSoccer Analyst Oliver Platt also revealed that Dominick Zator was close to a loan move to the Championship, too.

In terms of inbound players, Platt also made note that Cavalry FC was closing in one of The Island Game’s top centre midfielder’s from another CPL side, suggesting that a significant capture was in the works.

With Jose now set to continue donning red for the CPL offseason, fans will be hoping to see an in-form Escalante jump right into the 2021 Cavalry FC side. The club’s first two seasons saw Tommy Wheeldon Jr.’s men finish top of the regular season, but on both occasions they fell short of a North Star Shield title.

Club Deportivo Y Social Vida ply their trade in the North Zone of the Liga Naciona, where they kicked off the 2020 Apertura season with a 3-3 draw against Platense FC last week. It is expected that Escalante will be able to jump straight into competitive games this month.