Berhalter “Pleased” As Summer Window Winds Down

The summer transfer window has been a busy one for the Chicago Fire, with three incomings and one outgoing making a splash within Major League Soccer. The window comes to a close tonight, and after the additions of FC Porto's André Franco, CF Montréal's Joel Waterman, and TSC Bačka Topola's Viktor Radojević, the Fire have likely concluded their business.

Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter spoke with the media Thursday afternoon, discussing the summer and the moves that the team has made in recent days.

Berhalter “Pleased” With Business

While the Fire have done late deals in the past, it's been some time since the roster has seen such a major turnaround in the last 72 hours of the transfer window. A swap at starting center back in the form of Waterman is no small change, and the addition of a U-22 Initiative defender in Radojević is also something that could have an impact on the team for years to come. The signing of Franco last week is also rather significant, and he is the most highly anticipated of the three additions.

“We're pleased,” Berhalter said Thursday of the summer business. “We've added three pieces that can help us immediately, and that's important. They're pieces that can potentially help us in the long run, and that's the key.”

“We see all three of these players fitting into the culture of the team. They're all hardworking players. So to me, they all fit in perfectly.”

The Fire's strategy for the summer window has had to change a few times over the last few months. Initially, it had been geared toward signing a big-name Designated Player, as indicated by their earlier pursuits of Neymar Jr. and Kevin de Bruyne. The team also pushed hard to sign Norway international Patrick Berg from Bodø-Glimt. However, in the end, they did not find a big move that made sense for the team long-term, and eventually settled upon the “2+4+2” roster model, officially forgoing the signing of a DP for other roster benefits.

Major Trade for Waterman

One of the biggest intra-league trades of the final days of the window was the Fire's $500,000 move for Waterman, a longtime center back for Montréal. The Québec club is in the midst of a major rebuild, and their vice-captain was not in the plans. While Waterman may not have the same physical tools as outgoing defender Carlos Terán, who he replaces on the roster, the Canadian international brings different qualities – including reliability – that Berhalter feels will make this an upgrade for the Fire down the stretch.

“It's no secret that our backline struggled through the year with consistency,” Berhalter said. “I think Carlos was a fantastic guy, a fantastic player, but one of the issues was just his injury record and not being able to play enough. If he's healthy and on the field, he's a great player, but it just didn't happen enough throughout his time here.”

The like-for-like positional swap leaves the Fire with five center backs on the roster, as they had before. In addition to Waterman, the Fire can call upon team captain Jack Elliott, top prospect Christopher Cupps, capable backup Sam Rogers, and veteran Omar González. All five have had to play relevant minutes this season, no less because Terán missed close to four months with injury and was rarely reliable for more than a handful of games at a time.

“We were stretched thin, so I think this will help give some stability,” Berhalter said. “When you have a Canadian national team player, someone who has prospects of playing in the next World Cup, that's important. It's important for the club.”

Radojević Pens U-22 Deal

The other development in the final days was the signing of Serbian U-21 international Radojević from Serbian SuperLiga club TSC on a U-22 Initiative deal. While the deal is yet to be announced at the time of publication, everything is complete, and the move is just awaiting International Transfer Certificate clearance from FIFA.

Of course, left back has not been a problem position for the Fire. Andrew Gutman has arguably been an All-Star-level player for the team there, and he's been one of the more reliable players on the roster. However, he's started every single match in all competitions, playing nearly every minute along the way, so getting reprieve could benefit him in the long run and prolong his run of strong form by granting additional rest.

“For Rado, it was pretty easy because his experience for his age is very good,” Berhalter said. “Andrew's been going to the limit this year, and he's playing almost every game and doing a great job, but it comes to a point where we may need to rest him at times and to not have options is difficult.”

“Chase (Gasper) is working hard to get back, but he's been out for a while, and I think bringing in an option is going to help this group.”

The move for Radojević should be announced in the next 12 hours as the window shuts. The Fire will need to acquire an international slot before he joins the roster, and roughly four or five are currently available on the MLS market (though this is constantly changing and in flux in the final hours).

Next Up

The Fire face the Philadelphia Union this Saturday (6:30 p.m. CT on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass) in a match where new addition Franco is likely to make his debut. Waterman is awaiting visa clearance, but could also play if that is sorted. Radojević likely won't feature until early September.

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