Koutsias Officially Moves to FC Lugano

Georgios Koutsias has officially completed a permanent transfer to FC Lugano, the Chicago Fire announced this morning. Koutsias has been on loan in Switzerland since last year.

The 21-year-old Greek forward — who was an Under-22 Initiative signing by the Fire ahead of the  2023 season — spent two seasons in Chicago before being loaned to Lugano last winter. Koutsias scored seven goals in 65 appearances for the Fire, serving as the starting center forward in 2023 and Hugo Cuypers’ primary backup in 2024.

Importantly, this move to Lugano did not require the use of the Fire’s first contract buyout for this offseason. Since last year, MLS teams have been allowed to buy-out two players per season, and they still have both remaining for this year. Last season’s buyouts were Arnaud Souquet and Gastón Giménez.

In 2023 and 2024, Koutsias occupied U-22 Initiative and international roster slots. He did not count as either on the roster for 2025, so very little changes from a roster-building standpoint, but the fact that the move doesn’t count as a buyout is a huge win in and of itself. That grants the Fire slightly more flexibility this offseason if they decide to shed more than one extraneous contract from the salary cap.

This season, Koutsias has scored two goals in 10 Swiss Super League matches. He’s building on a strong finish to the 2024/25 season, in which he scored eight goals in all competitions including two in the UEFA Conference League knockout stages. There are a few other former Fire players in Lugano, including Ousmane Doumbia and Claudio Cassano, the latter of which joined on loan from Fire II in the summer.

Koutsias continues to be a Greek U-21 international and has been named to three squads this fall. His most recent goal involvements internationally came with two goals against Malta in September.