On Wednesday, Forge FC announced the signing of 18-year-old midfielder Matteo Schiavoni on loan from CF Montréal.
The Montréal native spent this past season with Serie A side Bologna FC in Italy, where he appeared primarily for their U-18 team, making a further nine appearances in the Primavera side in all competitions.
Having first joined the CF Montréal academy in 2014, Schiavoni has worked his way through the club’s youth ranks and was part of the club’s preseason roster this year.
He will now look to make his professional debut in the Canadian Premier League with Forge. He joins a strong midfield contingent that includes captain Kyle Bekker, Noah Jensen, Alessandro Hojabrpour, Elimane Cissé and former CF Montréal academy player Khadim Kane.
Schiavoni recently represented Canada at the U-20 level, where he played alongside now Forge teammate Kevaughn Tavernier. That squad also included Vancouver FC’s James Cameron, and recent Pacific FC signing Christian Greco-Taylor.
At the 2024 Concacaf U-20 qualifiers, the young midfielder played 30 minutes in Canada’s group opener in an 8-0 win against Dominica, before playing the full 90 against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He registered an assist in that second match, a 4-0 win.
GOAL 🇨🇦
Tavio Ciccarelli opens the scoring for the #CanMNT U-20s vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, rounding off a follow-up in this Concacaf U-20 Championship qualifier 😎
🔴 Watch #CanM20 on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/tx8UfpelXt
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) February 25, 2024
Schiavoni is just the latest CF Montréal player to be loaned to the CPL. Goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, who recently received his first senior call-up for the Canadian men’s national team, won the club’s Defensive Player of the Year last season after spending two years on loan with Valour. He was joined in Winnipeg by fellow CF Montréal loanee Sean Rea, who won the 2022 CPL Best U-21 Canadian Player award.
Karifa Yao (Cavalry), Jean-Aniel Assi (Cavalry, Atlético Ottawa) and Ilias Iliadis (Atlético Ottawa) have all had successful spells in the league in recent years on loan from Montréal.
As a loan player, Schiavoni can earn up to 1,000 U-21 domestic minutes this season for Forge. Each side is required to reach a minimum of 2,000 during the 2024 season in order to be playoff-eligible.