4 Players Who Could Leave the Chicago Fire this January

It's no secret that the arrival of Gregg Berhalter at the Chicago Fire is heralding a widespread personnel makeover from top to bottom. The sporting staff has already seen a near-complete turnover, with Berhalter bringing in an almost entirely new crew to run operations, and several changes have already been made to the roster.

The bottom of the roster has already received several boosts, with David Poreba, Omari Glasgow, and Dylan Borso among those signed to upgrade on the likes of Victor Bezerra, Missael Rodríguez, and Javi Casas. The departures of Fabian Herbers, Rafa Czichos, and Ari Lassiter were among those at the top end to free up space for Berhalter to bring in new signings, but the Christmas Eve contract termination of Gastón Giménez was by far the most important departure so far.

While Giménez's exit leaves the Fire with six open senior roster spots for Berhalter and Co. to work with, it's unlikely that the Paraguay international will be the last to leave the club this winter. Here are four players who could yet leave the club in the transfer window.

Arnaud Souquet

With the alleviation from Giménez's contract freeing up a DP slot, Arnaud Souquet is now at the top of Berhalter's transfer list. The French defender earns a TAM salary far above what the level of his contributions would suggest, and his performances at the end of last season were subpar. In addition, he is not a good fit for Berhalter's system.

The Fire tried to move Souquet last year, too; he trained separately from the team for a portion of preseason, was demoted to Fire II, and didn't play for the first team until April, but in spite of all that, he remained determined to stay in Chicago. Over the summer, the 32-year-old admitted that it was his decision to stay and fight for a place in the team, even as the third-choice right back, but with the position currently among Berhalter's priorities in the transfer market, things are unlikely to be different this season.

Souquet was not picked in the MLS Expansion Draft, but the fact that he was left unprotected (alongside the now-departed Giménez) sends a message that he will be pushed toward the door again. Expect Souquet to be shopped once again in January, and if a buyer isn't found, he could be a candidate for the Fire's one-time annual buyout (which remains unused as Giménez's departure is currently classified as a mutual termination). The buyout will also be used if Souquet (or anyone else) is moved to FC Lugano, though the red-hot form of summer signing Mattia Zanotti at right back for the Swiss League leaders makes that highly unlikely.

Chris Mueller

Beyond Souquet, the only Fire player whose contract truly sticks out is Chris Mueller, who didn't manage to find the net once in 2024 despite his $712,000 TAM salary. It's not entirely the fault of the 28-year-old Schaumburg native, who was plagued with injuries in 2022 and 2023, causing his struggles in 2024. Regardless, it would be quite the turnaround if Mueller is to replicate the form that earned him two U.S. Men's National Team call-ups for Gregg Berhalter once upon a time, and with the Fire in the market for a DP winger, his days in Chicago could be numbered.

Mueller currently has one year left on his current deal, so it's possible that he could stick around as an expensive backup and enter free agency for 2026. However, freeing up a roster spot and replacing him with a more dangerous attacking threat off of the bench would be beneficial if Berhalter and the Fire are serious about becoming a team to beat in MLS.

Finding a new club for the winger will be difficult, as many would perceive him a risky acquisition after a goalless 2024 campaign, but there are still ways to move him. The most likely outcome in this case would be a trade within MLS, which could potentially see the Fire still take up a portion of his salary in 2025. At the very least, it would open up some cap space and a roster spot, and there may be a team somewhere in the league willing to take a gamble on a player who was one of MLS' top wingers in 2020 and 2021. Alternatively, a buyout is also possible, but the priority will likely be to use that for Souquet or Giménez; of the three, Mueller has the highest upside and potential to be a difference-maker in Berhalter's system... provided that he can look more like his old self.

Carlos Terán

Unlike Souquet and Mueller, Carlos Terán isn't someone Berhalter's staff would feel they need to move on from, but his eventual departure seems inevitable. In an interview last November, he told Gianluca DiMarzio that he felt it was time to move to Europe, but a preseason injury prevented that from happening. In May, the Colombian center back confirmed once again that his desire was to play across the pond eventually, and with his 25th birthday around the corner, there may not be many other future opportunities to make the jump.

The arrival of Jack Elliott in free agency further impacts Terán's future, as he is one of the top center backs in MLS at the moment. A healthy Tobias Salquist will also be firmly above Terán on the depth chart, meaning that he could be stapled to the bench next season, so suddenly, any European options seem very attractive.

Currently valued by Transfermarkt at around €2 million, a transfer to Europe would likely be to a level like Belgium's Pro League or France's Ligue 1. There's no need to force this one through, as Terán is a perfectly capable MLS-level player who does not take up an international slot, but if interest is sufficient from the player's end and an opportunity presents itself overseas, it may be time for him to take the plunge and get a fresh start in a new league. A sale anywhere close to the €2 million valuation would also add plenty of General Allocation Money to the Fire's coffers, something they could benefit from as they look to fill out the rest of the senior roster.

Sergio Oregel Jr.

Unfortunately, things haven't worked out as planned for Sergio Oregel with the Fire. His talent is evident, and he has shown his quality consistently with Fire II in MLS Next Pro, but he hasn't yet developed the tools to be a contributor at the first-team level. Stylistically, he was, in some ways, the heir to Gastón Giménez, but since that profile of central midfielder isn't what Berhalter is looking for, he doesn't have much of a pathway to MLS minutes either. Now 19, Oregel hasn't appeared in an MLS matchday squad since making his pro debut in October 2022 and trained almost exclusively with the second team in 2024.

It could be argued that Oregel hasn't gotten fair opportunities to break through into the Fire first team, but it's clear that he isn't valued in the same way he was when he was signed to a homegrown contract in 2021. Though he's still very young, a change of scenery might be what he needs to accelerate his development and help him reach the levels that his talent could lift him to. A move remains a distinct possibility going into the offseason, provided that the right opportunity presents itself.

Despite his lack of MLS minutes, Oregel is also a U.S. U-20 international and is on the fringes of a talented midfield pool competing to make the U-20 World Cup squad next spring.

Read More:

https://meninred97.com/gimenez-fire-agree-to-mutual-contract-termination/

https://meninred97.com/fire-roster-update-berhalter-starts-to-rework-fire-squad/