York United Releases 2022 Roster Update

Canadian Premier League side York United has released an official roster update clarifying its player retentions ahead of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season, with 18 players remaining under contract for the club’s fourth campaign.

Gone are internationals Osvaldo Ramirez, Gerard Lavergne, Alvaro Rivero, Julian Ulbricht, and Nicholas Hamilton, while TFC Academy product Jordan Faria has also been released after an injury-plagued season.

In addition, Vancouver Whitecaps loanee Mateo Campagna has returned to his parent club, while Muslim Umar has returned to Edmonton after the expiry of his development permit. The club had previous confirmed that defender Nicholas Lindsay was stepping away from the professional game for the time being.

Goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos remains under contract following the release of Nathan Ingham, with the club expected to bring in a more salary-cap-friendly replacement who will serve as a backup to Giantsopolous.

Defenders Dominick Zator, Roger Thompson, Jordan Wilson, Diyaeddine Abzi, Chrisnovic N’sa, and Felix N’sa all remain under contract, with midfielders Sebastian Gutierrez, Noah Verhoeven and Michael Petrasso also set to stay. Cedric Toussaint, Isaiah Johnston, and Max Ferrari all had their contracts extended mid-season.

Young forward Lowell Wright also remains under contract, with the club having recently announced that 18-year-old striker Mamadou Kane will join him up front after signing a multi-year deal.

The Nine Stripes also confirmed that internationals Lisandro Cabrera, Mateo Hernandez, and William Wallace are expected to join the club next season after travel difficulties prevented their arrival this year.

Midfielders Ijah Halley and Javier George still in the midst of contract negotiations, but for the moment they’re officially off the roster. All-told, that means that eighteen players have been retained for the 2022 CPL season.

Sources indicate that York United is expecting to utilize all of its seven available international slots for the upcoming season, which means at least three new international signings are inbound. Those same sources have confirmed that the arrival of former Fiorentina striker Martin Graiciar is now a done deal.

The club’s fourth-ever season looks like it will be a defining time for the club: while the Nine Stripes did well to reach the playoffs last season, it parted ways with head coach Jim Brennan in a bid to secure more sustained success under new leadership. With former Cavalry FC assistant coach Martin Nash stepping up to the plate, it’ll be interesting to see what unfolds next.

With eighteen players retained and three new internationals set to arrive, it’ll be interesting to see how Nash galvanizes a stable-looking roster. The club remains in need of a goalkeeper, which would leave room for just one further domestic addition – though roster rules do leave flexibility for developmental additions, too.