On Wednesday, the Chicago Fire announced that English midfielder Mo Adamsobtained a U.S. green card, meaning he no longer counts as an international player on the Fire's squad.
Now, the club have an open international slot ahead of the Secondary Transfer Window opening on July 7. How may they use it? Back in May at a media roundtable event, GM Nelson Rodriguez gave an inkling as to where he wanted to improve the squad: Fullback.
Even after acquiring Costa Rican defender Francisco Calvo, who prefers to play center back but can play left back, Rodriguez was on the hunt for more defensive reinforcements, especially so Bastian Schweinsteiger can return to the midfield.
"Francisco Calvo is a big help," Rodriguez said in May. "We wanted to increase our competitive level within the backline, I think the intent has always been to play Bastian higher up the field. ... We could probably use more cover and competition at right back, but we feel good at center back."
Rodriguez later added that right back will be a priority. Center back Johan Kappelhof has largely been the team's first choice right back this season.
In the aftermath of the club's 2-1 defeat to USL side Saint Louis FC in the US Open Cup, head coach Veljko Paunovic warned of changes to the team as well.
“It’s a mix of sometimes a casual approach and an immaturity that we have in some moments of the game, some lapses that are unacceptable at this level of competition and any other level that we are performing in,” said Paunovic. "So, we have to fix things. We have some time but it’s definitely not what we want and it’s time for us to also make decisions and move forward."
Will he have another defender to choose from in a month? Time will tell, but the pool of players to choose from just got a whole lot wider with another international slot open.
