BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Football.fr reported Tuesday that former Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon and most recently FC Rostov forward Florent Sinama Pongolle would be heading to the Chicago Fire this week.
While the report might indicate the 29-year-old striker would be signing with the club, the once-capped French international is only set to begin a training stint with the Fire this week, according to Technical Director Brian Bliss.
“Florent’s a guy with a good resume who is currently without a team,” Bliss told Chicago-Fire.com. “He’ll be getting a look with us in training over the next week as we explore roster development opportunities going forward.”
Sinama Pongolle burst on to the international scene scoring nine goals to winning the Golden Boot and Golden Ball as France lifted the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Trinidad & Tobago. In that tournament, he actually scored a hat trick in a 5-3 group win over the United States, a game in which current Fire striker Mike Magee also tallied for the U.S.
The Frenchman has moved from clubs in England, Spain, Portugal, France and Russia during his career but barely played this past season for Russian side FC Rostov after suffering an ACL injury last March.
In other news, recent Fire signing Robert Earnshaw has received his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa and is set to arrive in Chicago Wednesday night.
The Welsh international is expected to be at Toyota Park for training on Thursday with hopes that he could play a part in Saturday's match at Toronto FC.
