There's no sugarcoating it, the Chicago Fire have not been good for quite a while now. Their last playoff qualification came back in 2017, where they were bounced in the first round. Before that, they hadn't made the postseason since 2012. The roster is truly not cohesive, and they struggle to find consistent results. In 2022, Chicago won consecutive games on just two occasions, once in March, and once in July. Their 39 points placed them 12th in the Eastern Conference. Jhon Duran paced the team with his 8 goals, Xherdan Shaqiri provided 7 goals with 11 assists, and Pryzybylko added 5. Chicago made some serious sales, and perhaps could use the received money for some positive roster help.
Jhon Duran, the 19-year-old Colombian striker, transferred to Aston Villa on a transfer fee of $18m, which could rise even higher. Rising young star and goalkeeper Gaga Slonina finally completed his transfer to Chelsea, on a fee of around $15m. It goes without saying that this pair of Premier League sales give Chicago Fire some money to work with. At this time, their off-season has not moved the needle. Their most impactful acquisition is right back Arnaud Souquet from Montpellier. They made some depth signings in fullback Jonathan Dean from the USL, as well as American goalkeeper Jeff Gal from Degerfors IF. Their lone attacking acquisition comes in the form of Swiss winger Maren Haile-Selassie, who is on a season-long loan through this season, including an option to buy. Kacper Przyblyko remains the man up top for Chicago, but they continue the search for a DP #9. Their pursuit of South Korean Hwang Ui-Jo fell short in the end, and they will explore other options. Currently, the roster does not inspire a whole lot of confidence.
Chicago Fire have cemented themselves on the outside looking in, and desperately need to find a way back to glory. Their DPs need to produce. Xherdan Shaqiri's first season output was solid, but the team will likely need even more from him to hit new heights. The disappointment of 2022 had to have been young DP Jairo Torres. The Mexican forward was an exciting signing, but appeared in 14 matches without scoring, and assisted once. Though, context must be added. Torres played under 700 minutes on the season, mostly with a tibial stress fracture, an extremely difficult injury to play through. He could definitely find his form for Chicago in 2023, as he has already bagged a brace in a preseason match. Chris Mueller had a decent year in his return to Major League Soccer last season, and he will team up with homegrown Brian Gutierrez on the wings. Rafael Czichos will attempt to hold down the back for the Fire. Chris Brady, 18, assumes the starting GK position with Slonina gone. Chicago Fire have a collection of promising young talents, but in order to find success in 2023, these players will need to tap into their potential sooner rather than later.
Starting XI:
GK: Brady
DEF: M. Navarro, Czichos, Teran, Souquet
MID: Gimenez, F. Navarro, Gutierrez, Mueller, Shaqiri
FWD: Przybylko
Off-Season Grade: C
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