BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – The Chicago Fire’s plans to rebuild for next season are already well under way and head coach Frank Yallop confirmed that former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O’Hara is one of a number of players he is looking at ahead of 2015.
O’Hara, who has also played for Chesterfield, Millwall, Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England, has been training with the Fire over the last two weeks, and has caught the eye in practice games with his vision, passing ability and composure on the ball.
He is exactly the kind of creative midfield force the Fire were lacking this year, and Yallop revealed that the 28-year-old is someone who would add quality to his side.
“Jamie's done well,” Yallop told reporters after the Fire’s 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo Friday. “We brought him in to see what he's all about, and heard good things about his football. I know him from his Tottenham days, and Wolves and all the teams he's played for.
"I think he'd be the first to admit that he's kind of lost his way his way a little bit in England," continued Yallop. "He's a Premiership-type player that has qualities that would add to our team. Again, it's a jigsaw puzzle.”
Yallop’s very public attempts to bring in US World Cup midfielder Jermaine Jones ended in disappointment this summer when the New England Revolution won the blind draw for the player's services, and as such Yallop was reluctant to reveal too much about the former England U21 player.
"I'd love to say that, yeah, we got him and we're going to sign him," Yallop said. "But at this point we will sit down with Jamie and his agent and see where it takes us. I think he's done well enough to be on our team, for sure.”
O’Hara, a Tottenham academy product who bounced around on several loan stints before signing a permanent deal with Wolves in June 2011, seems to be enjoying his time in Chicago, and took in a recent Chicago Bulls game with Fire players Grant Ward, Robert Earnshaw and Florent Sinama-Pongolle at the United Center.
The Dartford, Kent native is one of several players Yallop has looked at in recent weeks, with several US-based players coming in on trials. Current Canadian international centerback Adam Straith, 24, who has played with Energie Cottbus, FC Saarbrucken and SV Wehen Wiesbaden in Germany, has also stood out while on trial this week.
Shane Murray covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com.
