Atlético Ottawa are working hard to untangle their cap situation. Whether they can find the space to land Sean Rea remains to be seen
With the CPL transfer window officially opening on July 12, Atlético Ottawa have been busy shuffling pieces around on their roster in an attempt to bring in reinforcements. Former CF Montréal midfielder Sean Rea remains a prime target for the club, as The Wanderers Notebook and other publications previously reported, but cap restraints still stand between Rea and suiting up in the nation's capital.
Sources close to the situation told The Wanderers Notebook that Rea and Atlético Ottawa have a deal in principle to bring the 22-year old Laval-native to the CPL but nothing has been finalized due to the fact that the club is very near the salary cap ceiling. A signing spree from earlier this season —which brought in the likes of Manny Aparicio, Amer Didic, Kris Twardek and Ballou Tabla — has left Atlético Ottawa unable to sign almost any new player.
The club has been actively making moves to try and alleviate their cap situation, including mutually terminating Aboubakary Sacko's contract. Sacko, who signed for Atlético Ottawa last year from Ligue 2 side Le Havre, played sparsely this season and was unable to earn head coach Carlos Gonzalez's trust. He featured in only two league matches in in 2024.
However, even with Sacko's departure, Atlético Ottawa still need to unload more dollars if they are to bring Rea into the fold. There's been speculation that the club might try and seek salary cap relief for Kévin dos Santos given the attacker was injured at the beginning of the season and continues to rehab from a knee injury. Where things get complicated is Atlético Ottawa have already hit their quota for salary cap relief as Jonathan Grant, who was injured during pre-season, has been on the inactive roster list since March. League rules stipulate each club can only move one contract to inactive status for salary cap relief per season. Sources with knowledge of the situation told The Wanderers Notebook that Atlético Ottawa have not applied for an exemption for dos Santos' contract and he remains on the active roster.
Atlético Ottawa also agreed to mutually terminate Luca Piccioli's U Sports contract, although the CPL - U Sports draft pick will continue to train with the first team. In the meantime, he's signed with Ligue1 Québec side OSU Atlético. As U Sports contracts don't count towards the salary cap, Atlético Ottawa didn't create any more space with Piccioli's move but guaranteed the Ottawa-native valuable minutes with OSU Atlético.
With their first-place lead on York United narrowing, time will tell if Atlético Ottawa opt to further shuffle their squad in hopes of getting a mid-season boost from a player like Rea or decide to ride their current stars until the end of the season. One path will require hard roster decisions; the other risks burning out key players before the competition for the North Star Cup even begins.
Cover Photo Credit: Audrey Magny
