The Halifax Wanderers Football Club has signed Canadian midfielder Sean Rea to a contract through the 2025 Canadian Premier League season.
Rea, 22, has established himself as one of Canada’s top young players. He had a decorated two-year stint at Valour FC, where he was named the league’s U21 Player of the Year in 2022. Rea’s nine assists in 2022 is a league record for assists in a single season. He returns to the CPL after two seasons split between the MLS (CF Montreal) and Spain (CD Castellón)
“I’m extremely excited to be joining Halifax, and my main goal coming in halfway through the season is helping the team get into a playoff position,” Rea said. “I remember from playing with Valour that Halifax was always loud and a full stadium. The Wanderers fans deserve a team that is in the playoffs this season.”
From Montreal, Quebec, Rea began his career at CF Montreal and spent six years in their academy. In December of 2020, Rea signed his first professional contract with Montreal ahead of the club’s appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League.
In 2021, Montreal loaned Rea to the CPL’s Valour FC, where he scored twice and contributed four assists in 25 matches across all competitions.
He was again loaned to Valour in 2022 and had a breakout campaign, scoring five goals and tallying a league-record nine assists. He was also the league leader in chances created with 71, 28 more than any other player in the league. At the end of the 2022 season, Rea was named the league’s U21 Player of the Year and was also nominated for the Player of the Year award and among the finalists for the Players’ Player of the Year award.
“If you don’t take risks, there’s nothing that will come out of it”
After bringing fans to their feet in #CanPL for @ValourFootball, @Sean_Rea10 is now looking to do the same in his hometown with @cfmontreal ⚽️
✍️: @mitchelltierney 📺: @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/6XZmv8dNWw
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) February 23, 2023
“We’re excited to add a player who can create chances like Sean to the team,” Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar said. “I think our vision and philosophy of football really suit him. We feel very confident in the players that we have, but I think he’s going to complement our current group and add the magic of his end product of either scoring or assisting a goal.”
Rea returned to CF Montreal in 2023, making his MLS debut on February 25 against Inter Miami. On April 18, he scored the winning goal in Montreal’s first-round match of the Canadian Championship against Vaughan Azzurri, his first goal for the club. Across all competitions, Rea made 18 appearances for CF Montreal in 2023.
BUT ⚜️#CFMTL open the scoring in the 2023 #CanChamp via former #CanPL star SEAN REA, who follows up on a saved effort with a quick response off a corner 🎯
🔴 https://t.co/7JFAUhgRAE pic.twitter.com/U61ljL7cEt
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 18, 2023
In 2024, Rea joined Spanish club CD Castellón, making several appearances for CD Castellón B at the tail end of their league season.
“We’re delighted to welcome Sean to Halifax, a dynamic attacking player who has been high on our target list for a while,” sporting director Matt Fegan said. “He is another young Canadian talent to add to the squad with his best years ahead of him. We look forward to being part of his journey and know he will love playing in front of the best fans in the league at the Wanderers Grounds.”
Rea will join his new teammates in Halifax ahead of the club’s match on Aug. 5 against Vancouver FC. Tickets are available by clicking here.