Attacking midfielder Julian Altobelli, who led Toronto FC 2 in scoring last season with 11 goals in 23 games, has signed with York United FC of the Canadian Premier League on a one-year contract with a club option for 2026.
The 22-year-old from Woodbridge, Ont., also had four assists for Toronto FC's second team in MLS Next Pro league play last season when, as captain, he became the first player in club history to score in nine consecutive appearances.
His contract with TFC 2 expired at the end of 2024.
Altobelli will help fill the void in attack for York which lost forward Brian Wright to Forge FC last month. Wright, voted the CPL' Players' Player of the Year last season, ranked fourth in the CPL with nine goals in 2024.
In other CPL news, Halifax Wanderers re-signed two former TFC products in defender Julian Dunn and forward Ryan Telfer.
Elsewhere, Pacific FC signed midfielder Lukas Browning Lagerfeldt from Gefle IF in Sweden’s top league. And Forge FC added Serbian left back Marko Jevremovic from Athens Kallithea in the elite Greek Super League.
Altobelli joined the TFC academy in 2014 as an 11-year-old and rose through the ranks before signing with York in the summer of 2020. Illness sidelined him at the Island Games, which replaced the CPL regular season during the pandemic, although he made the bench on three occasions.
“I’m super-excited to be back,” Altobelli said in a statement. "When I came here for the first time, I was only 17 years old. I didn’t have any experience and didn’t know what to expect. Moving to TFC and getting a taste of training with the first team, playing so much with TFC 2 … I’m coming back here as a man now. I feel like I’m ready for this opportunity and excited to get to work.”
Overall Altobelli made 94 appearances for TFC II in four seasons, with 21 goals and 11 assists. He signed several short-term contracts with the Toronto first team in 2023 and 2024.
York president Ricardo Pasquel called Altobelli an important addition to the roster.
"He can pull a goal or assist from thin air and for a young man, he brings a ton of experience. He was a captain last season too, a testament to his leadership qualities and how he’s perceived by his peers."
Browning Lagerfeldt, who signed a one-year contact with a club option for 2026, adds experience to the Pacific lineup.
Born in Ireland, but raised in Stockholm, he spent his youth career with IF Brommapojkarna and FC Twente. He made his senior debut for Orgryte IS in 2021, making 54 appearances before moving to Dalkurd FF in Sweden’s second tier.
Browning Lagerfeld, 26, returned to Ireland to join Sligo Rovers in 2023, before joining Gefle last season back in Sweden.
“Lukas has a strong background and he’s an experienced player with high standards that’s coming with a clear mentality to win," Pacific coach James Merriman said. “He is a machine in the middle of the field who covers ground and has the technical ability to improve our overall control with the ball.”
A dual national, Browning Lagerfeld made 19 appearances in the Swedish youth ranks from under-16 to under-19. He has also made one appearance with Ireland’s U-17 squad.
The 26-year-old Jevremovic also brings experience to Forge, having played in Greece, Bosnia, Cyprus and Serbia.
“Marko is a dynamic defender with exceptional technical ability and experience at a high level in European football,” said Bobby Smyrniotis, Forge's sporting director and coach. “His ability to contribute on both sides of the ball makes him a valuable addition to our squad as we continue to build for the upcoming season."
Before Athens Kallithea, Jevremovic had a stint with Bosnian club FK Zvijezda 09 and, in 2023, Cypriot side Enosis Neon Paralimniou. Prior to that, he spent three seasons with Serbia's FK Javor-Matis Ivanjica. He began his pro career with FK Mladost Lucani in 2019.
Across his career, Jevremovic has four goals and 28 assists in 161 pro appearances. He also has one cap for the Serbian national team.
Halifax has re-signed Dunn and Telfer to new contracts with Dunn agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option for 2026 and Telfer signing through 2026.
Dunn played in the Wanderers' first 10 regular-season matches in 2024 in his first year with the club before he was sidelined the rest of the campaign through injury.
The 24-year-old is a former nominee for CPL's U21 Player of the Year. Dunn, who also had a stint in Norway on loan to HamKam, has represented Canada at the U-17, U-20 and U-23 levels.
Telfer scored five goals and added four assists in 24 matches in 2024, his first year with Halifax.
“Ryan is a presence both in the locker room and on the pitch with his work ethic and positive attitude," Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar said. “He became an important player in the centre of our attack after we moved him up front early last season, so we are excited to see he wants to commit his future to Halifax.”
The 30-year-old Telfer has scored 10 goals in 32 internationals for Trinidad and Tobago.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
