York United Adds Canada U-20 Defender Noah Abatneh

York United has signed another domestic U-21 athlete with the acquisition of 18-year-old defender Noah Abatneh.

The Lazio Academy product has inked a one-year contract that includes further club options.

The Toronto native was a member of the Canada U-20 squad for the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship last summer, featuring as a right-back through the first half of the group’s win against Cuba before riding the bench for the rest of the tournament.

Related: York United Also Brought In Canada U-20 Prospect Theo Afework

Abatneh had signed with the Lazio Academy, progressing from the U-17 team up to the U-19 squad before two subsequent loan spells in Serie D: the first was saw him make five appearances with FC Lamezia Terme, with the second seeing him make four for AC Campodarsego before he was sidelined through injury.

The youngster had previously trained with the ASD Savio Calcio and AS Roma academies before his stint with Lazio, and had trained with the likes of Arsenal and Fulham when he was nine years old.

“Noah is a player who has had a really interesting football journey so far,” adds York United President Angus McNab, who was keen to watch his development given the high-profile clubs he featured for as a youth talent.

While Abatneh was a right-back for Canada U-20, he can play anywhere across the back four. York United has a few options in each position, so it’ll be interesting to see where he ultimately gets deployed.

Abatneh has yet to meet his teammates, which suggests there might be some time between now and his Nine Stripes debut. The club has three other domestic U-21 players on the master roster already, with Eleias Himaras, Markiyan Voytsekhovskyy, and the aforementioned Afework.

York United opened their season with a two-nil loss to Valour, and will face Vancouver FC twice this week through cup and league play.