The Halifax Wanderers announced on Friday the signing of 17-year-old forward Tavio Ciccarelli to the club’s first Exceptional Young Talent contract.
He will join the Wanderers in early July, pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate, and has signed a contract through the 2026 Canadian Premier League season, with a club option for 2027.
Ciccarelli, who hails from Winnipeg, is an exciting young attacker who recently represented Canada at the U-20 Concacaf Championship qualifiers in Trinidad and Tobago. At that tournament, he scored a hat trick against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting on a fourth goal in a 4-0 victory.
“I’m really excited to come back home to Canada and play for the Wanderers,” Ciccarelli said in a press release. “I’ve heard positive things about the club, and one thing that stood out to me was the fans: loud and passionate, pushing the players on. Fans can expect a player who likes to take opposition players on to create plays and goals.”
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Tavio Ciccarelli immediately follows up for 3-0 for the #CanMNT U-20s vs. St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Canada are cruising to another win in this Concacaf U-20 Championship qualifier ✨
🔴 Watch #CanM20 on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/wdsfccVxjW
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) February 25, 2024
The 17-year-old has spent his youth career playing in England, most recently with Sheffield United’s U-18 side. He also spent time in the Leeds United academy.
That time in Europe has enabled Ciccarelli to develop exceptional technical ability. In particular, his adeptness at finding and operating in dangerous spaces in the final third and creating goals from those areas is at an elite level.
Each club is allowed to sign two U-18 domestic players to their development roster under the Exceptional Young Talent roster category. These players can retain this status up until, and including, the year in which they turn 21. Their base salary and portions of housing and bonuses do not count toward the salary cap.
Ciccarelli becomes the fourth player to be signed under the designation, joining Forge’s Khadim Kane and Vancouver FC’s TJ Tahid and James Cameron, Ciccarelli’s Canada U-20 teammate.