Influential French midfielder Lorenzo Callegari has signed a new contract with the Halifax Wanderers that keeps him with the Canadian Premier League team through the 2026 season.
The former French youth international joined Halifax in January 2023 from French fourth-tier side FC Chambly. But he grew up in the Paris Saint-Germain system and played for the Ligue 1 powerhouse's youth and reserve sides from 2011 to 2018.
The 26-year-old, whose previous deal expired at the end of 2024, has made 53 appearances for Halifax and is the franchise's all-time leader in assists.
"He has established himself as a key piece of the squad with his consistency on the pitch so this contract has been a top priority for us this off-season," Halifax sporting director Matt Fegan said. in a statement. "He remains very invested in the success of the club. These are the players we want to retain here, showing his loyalty and dedication to the club, our city and our supporters."
In other CPL news, defender Kadin Chung has returned for a second stint with Pacific FC after two seasons with Vancouver FC. And defender Luke Singh signed with York United FC after two seasons with Atletico Ottawa, on loan from Toronto FC.
In 2023, Callegari was a nominee for the league’s Player of the Year award and was a finalist for the Player’s Player of the Year Award in both 2023 and '24. He was named Wanderers Player of the Year for both seasons and has earned 12 selections to the CPL’s Team of the Week as a Wanderer.
"Lorenzo is one of, if not the best player in the league and a big part of our team so we're extremely excited to have him back," Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar said. "He works extremely hard, is super-competitive and, along with being the top distributor in the CPL. He's also one of the best at winning tackles."
Callegari represented France from the under-17 to under-20 ranks and was part of the French side that won the 2015 U-17 European Championship and competed at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile.
At club level, the native of Meudon, France, made 43 appearances for the PSG B team and debuted for the first team in a 2016 pre-season friendly against Real Madrid. He also came off the bench in November 2016, in a Ligue 1 match against Angers.
Callegari left the Paris side in 2018, joining Italy's Genoa before returning to France with Avranches and then, in 2020, Chambly.
The 26-year-old Chung has signed a contract through 2026 with Pacific which made him the club's inaugural signing in November 2018. He went on to make 63 appearances for the Vancouver Island team, winning the league title in 2021.
"Kadin is one of the most well-rounded defenders we have in the country," said Pacific coach James Merriman. “He’s comfortable in buildup play, he’s very effective attacking wide areas or coming inside. He’s strong in one-on-one situations defensively and deceptively quick in his recovery runs.
"He’s a top talent at this level and we believe he is capable of even more."
The native of Port Coquitlam, B.C. left Pacific in 2022 to join Toronto FC, becoming the third player in CPL history to make the move to a Major League Soccer side. He made eight appearances for Toronto during his time with the club and was later loaned to Toronto FC 2 in MLS Next Pro.
Chung, a former Canadian youth international who started in the Vancouver Whitecaps academy, made 38 appearances for Vancouver FC over the last two seasons.
Singh has signed a two-year guaranteed contract with York with a club option for another year.
The 24-year-old from Brampton, Ont., made 49 appearances over his two seasons in Ottawa after spending the 2022 CPL season on loan with FC Edmonton.
Singh joined the Toronto FC academy in 2017 and had a loan spell with Denmark's Brondby IF before returning to Toronto and signing a homegrown contract. The MLS team declined his 2025 contact option after last season.
He made six regular-season appearances with TFC.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2023.
The Canadian Press