Hundal Hungry For Next Opportunity

Highly-touted former Toronto FC II youngster Shaan Hundal is currently a free agent, biding his time back home in Brampton ahead of his next move.

The forward last played for Canadian Premier League side Valour FC, signing with the side months after a trial in March due to a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite making nearly a hundred professional appearances in the USL, he viewed the Canadian Premier League as the best platform to get a bigger opportunity.

When Valour FC released its roster update in mid-January, it made mention that Shaan would not be returning to the team. Thus, the Brampton-born forward ends his time with the team after making four appearances, collecting two assists a minute apart from one another as a late substitute against Atletico Ottawa.

Hundal isn’t closing the book on the CPL, but he’s not putting all his eggs in the proverbial domestic basket, either:

I’m currently keeping my options open, however I wouldn’t mind coming back to the Canadian Premier League. But, I do also want to look at other leagues and opportunities.

Shaan Hundal

While the 2019 season ended with plenty of talk regarding a sour locker room atmosphere for Valour FC, the 2020 season was the polar opposite: many players have gone on the record to report a positive atmosphere, with Rob Gale overseeing what was ultimately a much-improved roster rebuild ahead of The Island Games.

Unsurprisingly, Hundal counts himself among one of the many Valour FC men who was impressed by the team chemistry on and off the pitch, the coaching staff, and the league’s organization of the bubble tournament overall:

I made some real good friends and learned a lot from the staff. It’s a quality group, and the Island Games was a great experience. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel like the league executed their plan very well.

Shaan Hundal

The 21-year-old arrived to Winnipeg last year after spending several seasons in the USL Championship with Toronto FC II, where he contributed 17 goals in 84 appearances. In 2019 he was loaned to the Ottawa Fury, who ultimately only gave him one substitute appearance, which prompted former York United assistant coach Carmine Isacco to suggest that the CPL was a better place for young Canadians to develop than the now-defunct NASL side.

He isn’t the only former Valour man open to a CPL return, with former co-captain Skylar Thomas also confirming that he’d be open to a return back north of the border following his latest season with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Among players like Jeff Addai and Drew Beckie, there are plenty of domestic free agents presently open to a move to the CPL.

Valour FC has currently signed twelve players for the 2021 Canadian Premier League season, most recently bringing in 18-year-old Peruvian-Canadian winger Jared Ulloa on loan from Club Sporting Cristal.