Following the close of the 2016 MLS summer transfer window on Wednesday night, Chicago Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez held a conference call with local media members on Thursday to assess the team’s most recent acquisitions and look ahead to its next phase of development.
“Heading into the peak of this transfer and trade window, we had two primary objectives,” he said. “One was to find a target forward, someone who could play in a more advanced position than (forward) Michael de Leeuw, and another was just to overall try to improve our attacking depth. In terms of specific targets, we hit both objectives with top choices.”
The Fire were busy on the summer window’s final day, acquiring assets from the Philadelphia Union for the top spot in the MLS Allocation Ranking Order before announcing the signing of Armenian forward David Arshakyan and a trade with Colorado for forward Luis Solignac. Now, with those moves behind him, Rodriguez offered some insight into where he believes his roster currently stands and how it can continue to be approved ahead of next season.
“In this window also we were able to gain more resources that we will apply to the continued development of our roster,” he said. “I believe that we’re in a position -- should we choose to do so or should we find the right player -- that we can look to make another high-quality, impact acquisition for next year. All of these moves through this window were done in such a way that we also didn’t need to use any general allocation money in this window to fit our roster budget together, which I think is a good sign.”
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With two new attackers added to the mix and a healthy supply of general and targeted allocation money in tow, Rodriguez’s focus now turns to acclimating his new players and assessing the entire squad’s development during the second half of the season. At this point, though, he has an idea of remaining areas on the roster still in need of attention for future scouting.
“We first have to finish this year to see how these new parts that we’ve added mesh and how it all comes together, because there’s a constant re-evaluation of the roster,” he said. “Having said that, what I think remains as whole -- if you will -- are the dominant central midfielder, dominant either through play or personality or both. We would (also) likely look to add to our depth on the wing.”
Rodriguez was quick to note, though, that adding “dominant” players adds entirely separate wrinkles to the courting and acquisition process.
“Higher impact players, game-breakers, guys that can decide a game by themselves, these are harder to find, hard to make sure they’re the right fit when you do find them,” he said. “Then, you’ve got to get them at the right moment when they too might be looking for a change in their career.”
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The approach to roster development taken by Rodriguez and Paunovic has been a patient one, something on which they’ve been very vocal about since arriving in Bridgeview this past offseason. When asked if he feels pressure to sign “big name” players in an attempt to patch immediate holes, his response was succinct.
“No. I think moves that are born out of desperation tend to be bad moves. I believe that it’s more important to get it right than to get it fast. It is part of the reason why we had intended to not be that active in this window, because we are spending the time identifying and tracking players so that we have five months of more in-depth analysis -- more in-person analysis -- of players, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Now, with five months until the next transfer window opens in January, Rodriguez takes solace in the progress he believes his team is making and stands firmly optimistic for where it’s headed.
“I remain encouraged by the reaction and the response of most fans, who I think are seeing the plan, are seeing some of the results of that plan, are taking to some of the new players that we’ve brought in, and -- while our progress is not to the stride that we’d like it to be -- it is still nonetheless moving in the direction that we want, which is forward and which is towards building this championship program to which we always speak.”
