Victor Bezerra joins Detroit City on loan
Homegrown Chicago Fire forward Victor Bezerra is joining Detriot City FC on a season-long loan for 2024, the club announced this morning. Bezerra, who is in the final year of his first team contract, will have an opportunity to get competitive minutes in the USL Championship.
Detroit will gain a player who saw the field just ten times in MLS Next Pro in 2023 but is, regardless, a talented attacker who can play in multiple positions across the front line. Now 24, he was a star at Indiana before signing a homegrown contract ahead of the 2022 season.
Many had hoped Bezerra's reasonably strong rookie season in 2022 would lead to his becoming a regular contributor in MLS, but injuries were among the factors that ensured he never truly broke through. While he made just five cameo appearances in his first season, Bezerra did not see the field for the first team in 2023 but is still Chicago Fire II’s all-time leading scorer in MLS Next Pro with 11 strikes in 26 games.
Bezerra’s loan is the third confirmed move for a homegrown player on the Fire’s supplemental roster for 2024. Defender Justin Reynolds joined Swiss sister club FC Lugano on a short-term loan last week, while forward Missael Rodríguez will spend the season with Union Omaha of USL League One. SuperDraft pick Laurence Wootton is also expected to be loaned to the USL Championship once his deal is finalized.
The move for Bezerra is the second of 2024 between Chicago and Detroit; new set piece coach Ryan Needs was most recently a member of the coaching staff at DCFC before he was hired as a member of Frank Klopas’ new-look coaching staff in January.
