Sam Williams Signs with Chicago Fire First Team
Sam Williams has signed a first team deal with the Chicago Fire, the club announced this morning. The midfielder previously signed an MLS Next Pro contract with the club in January and will be eligible for tomorrow's game against Toronto FC.
Williams, 19, has trained with the first team for the entirety of his time in Chicago and has already appeared in MLS matches against D.C. United and FC Dallas. The move comes amidst the Fire's midfield crisis, which has left them with just two fully fit midfielders: homegrowns Brian Gutiérrez and Sergio Oregel.
In order to complete the signing, the Fire sent $100,000 of General Allocation Money to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for Williams' homegrown rights. The sum was pre-arranged between the Fire and Red Bulls when he first signed with the club, though it would only be paid if he signed with the first team, which he now has.
Williams was previously a highly-rated academy player in the Red Bull system and made 37 appearances for their second team in the USL Championship before turning 18. Most recently, he spent two seasons playing at the University of North Carolina. Throughout that time, he was tracked by Chicago Fire II General Manager Alex Boler and now-Head Coach Mike Matkovich, who were influential in bringing him to Chicago.
Availability for this weekend
Williams has already traveled with the first team to Toronto ahead of tomorrow's regular season match at BMO Field, and he will be eligible for selection right away. In addition, he will be in contention to start in holding midfield position, likely joining Brian Gutiérrez and Sergio Oregel if Mauricio Pineda isn't fit enough to make the XI.
Williams has trained with the first team all week, and did not feature for Fire II in their match last night. The midfielder watched from the sidelines as his teammates defeated Toronto FC II 1-0 at SeatGeek Stadium. Though he's now on a first team deal, Williams will still be eligible for Fire II for the rest of the season.
Roster news
With Williams moving to the first team roster, a few changes have been made to the makeup of the Fire's squad. Williams has been placed on the reserve roster (slots 25 to 30), pushing Justin Reynolds up to the full supplemental roster (21 to 24). In turn, backup center back Omar González moves to the senior roster, bringing that total up to 18.
With these moves, the Fire's eligible MLS roster now comprises 28 players, meaning there are two open positions (both on the senior roster). They can continue to make further signings between now and the end of the primary transfer window on April 23rd. Should space open up on the supplemental roster, they can also move González back to that, which would re-open another position on the senior roster.
