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Is Forge Set To Sign Cavallini?
By UPDATE: Two hours after our post, Forge FC has confirmed the signing of Lucas Cavallini.
Forge could have an all-time CPL signing on its hands with the potential capture of Canadian international Lucas Cavallini.
The move would mark the veteran striker’s first return to Canadian club football since he played for the Vancouver Whitecaps on a designated player contract in 2022, having spent most of his career competing in Uruguay and Mexico.
The 33-year-old Toronto-born striker just announced his departure from Liga MX side Puebla following a difficult spell with La Franja that was derailed by two significant knee injuries.
Cavallini first joined Puebla in 2017 and established himself as a fan favourite, later earning a move to the Vancouver Whitecaps at the end of 2019.
After subsequent spells with Vancouver and Club Tijuana, the Canadian international returned to Puebla as a free agent in 2024 and showed early signs that El Tanque still had plenty left in the tank.
He scored four goals through the opening four matches of the 2024 Apertura campaign before suffering a torn ACL in his right knee that kept him sidelined for almost a year.
The veteran attacker returned to action against Mazatlan in July 2025, making a 28-minute substitute appearance before suffering another ACL rupture in the same knee shortly afterwards.
Having not featured competitively since and still finding himself outside of the current Puebla squad, Cavallini is in big need of game time – and Forge looks like the strongest candidate to give him what he needs.
If Cavallini can find health and form with Forge, the CPL side – which is heading into a Canadian Championship Final this fall and is almost certain to be a playoff favourite in league play – could have itself a strong, clinical veteran who would be expected to deliver goals aplenty at the CPL level.
His three seasons with the Whitecaps saw him score 18 times, while his overall league record with Puebla stands at 23 goals in 71 appearances.
Having once been a regular in the Canadian national team setup, Cavallini has notched an incredible 19 goals in 40 appearances for Les Rouges, featuring in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup before bowing out of routine selection a year later.
Cavallini was raised in Mississauga but developed abroad in Uruguay, playing for the likes of Nacional, Juventud de Las Piedras, Fenix, and Penarol before his career eventually brought him north to Mexico with Puebla.
Forge recently brought another veteran Canadian international to its ranks with Manjrekar James returning for a second spell at Hamilton Stadium.
Bobby Smyrniotis’ side have consistently recruited strongly, with Forge establishing itself as a flagbearer for the young domestic league early on. The club has four playoff championships, three regular-season titles, and one previous Canadian Championship Final appearance under its belt through its first seven seasons of play.
With Forge travelling to face first-place Cavalry today, recruiting a high-calibre striker such as Cavallini would be a big boost ahead of what can only be described as a real six-pointer for the side.
Whether El Tanque ultimately signs with Forge remains to be seen, but thus far the timing looks to be working out to place the Hammers as a firm favourite to sign Cavallini. If the move gets pushed over the line, it’ll be a coup signing for a club just four points off of the top of the table with plenty of silverware still up for grabs.
