Who will be the Chicago Fire's next homegrown?
The American soccer world was shaken today by the biggest and arguably most important homegrown signing in MLS history when 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan was unveiled as a Philadelphia Union player. The young attacking midfielder is widely regarded as the best player of his age group in the world, the most exciting U.S. prospect ever, and is set to join European champion Manchester City as soon as he turns 18.
While Philadelphia has been the origin of many academy success stories in recent years, so has Chicago. The Fire's system has produced U.S. internationals like Djordje Mihailovic and Gaga Slonina, MLS regulars like Andrew Gutman and Mauricio Pineda, and exciting young stars such as Chris Brady and Brian Gutiérrez. Academy teams have also been successful at the youth level, taking home multiple national titles at different age groups.
However, ever since Justin Reynolds penned a homegrown deal in the spring of 2022, the Fire hasn't opted to sign any players from their academy. This is a departure from the rapid-fire nature in which ten homegrowns were signed between 2019 and 2022. A lack of roster space has partially motivated this, but the recent success of Fire II in MLS Next Pro opens the question of when the first team will dig into its academy for depth. Here are five players who could be the Fire's next homegrown signing.
Patrick Los (GK, 2007)
When the Fire selected Notre Dame's Bryan Dowd with the sixth overall pick in December's SuperDraft to much fanfare, fans expected him to be a future first team #1. In addition, he was expected to be Fire II's clear starter this season, preparing him for MLS action. However, 16-year-old academy starlet Patrick Los has ensured that is not the case.
Los has had a breakout start to the MLS Next Pro season, making the most of the opportunity he received when Dowd was injured in preseason, and benching the 22-year-old draftee. He was named Next Pro goalkeeper of the month in March and has thus far kept three clean sheets and recorded two shootout wins. Statistically, Los has been a top-five goalkeeper in the league, outperforming former USMNT camp invitees Chituru Odunze and Brady Scott and Mexico international David Ochoa. Eligible for both the United States and Poland, Los has been a regular for the U.S. youth teams, is currently the starting keeper for the American U-17 team, and seems to be next in the Chicago Fire's long line of goalkeeping products after Gaga Slonina, Chris Brady, Damian Las, and others.
There are currently four goalkeepers on the Fire's MLS roster, so there isn't a pathway for Los to sign right away. However, the long-term futures of third-string Jeff Gal and the aforementioned Dowd are still up in the air, so there could be an opportunity for Los to pen a deal as soon as next offseason. His explosion onto the scene in the last few months has made his future signing all the more likely, especially if his tremendous Next Pro form continues throughout the year.
Dylan Borso (CM, 2006)
Though he's missed most of this season so far through injury, Dylan Borso remains an exciting prospect that the Fire should look to secure for the future. Under different circumstances, he might have been signed to a first team contract earlier, having experienced a rapid ascent toward the end of the 2023 Next Pro season.
Borso is a central midfielder who can play different roles in the middle of the park and should be a key piece in Ludo Taillandier's summer plans once he is healthy again. In his first appearance of this season, he provided a beautiful assist on an Omari Glasgow goal, helping Fire II to beat FC Cincy II, and he was an electric force in his U.S. Open Cup start against Chicago City. Borso is committed to playing for Wake Forest this fall and will immediately be one of the top midfielders in the ACC as a freshman, an experience that could also benefit him even if he just spends one semester in college soccer before returning to Chicago.
The Fire's current roster situation makes it extremely unlikely that Borso will sign a first team deal this season, so in all likelihood, he'll be wearing the black and gold of Wake Forest come August. However, that doesn't mean he won't sign with the Fire further down the line, similar to how Mauricio Pineda spent four years at North Carolina before joining as a homegrown. Borso isn't quite ready for MLS action yet, but he's someone the Fire won't want to lose nonetheless.
Christopher Cupps (CB, 2008)
Another breakthrough prospect of this Next Pro season has been Christopher Cupps, who, at just 15, has forced his way into Taillandier's team. Cupps is among the Fire's top academy prospects and widely regarded as by far the best '08 center back in the country, so his progression toward regular Next Pro minutes is a welcome surprise.
A primarily right-sided center back who is physically ready to play at the reserve team level, Cupps missed the first part of the season with injury but has appeared in four straight league games since debuting at New York Red Bulls II last month. He has also shown improvement in his passing, contributing to Fire II's surge toward the top of the Eastern Conference table. Cupps has captained the United States at underage level and is expected to be called up to an upcoming U-16 camp in Argentina.
It's been some time since the Fire signed a central defender straight from the academy, with Nick Slonina (who never made an appearance) the most recent one. As he's still so young, there's no urgency to sign Cupps right now, either. But as a top three prospect in the organization, the Fire will undoubtedly want to secure his future sooner rather than later.
Vitaliy Hlyut (WF, 2008)
An attacking prospect worth mentioning from Cupps' age group is Vitaliy Hlyut, who, despite turning 16 last week, has already made an impact for Fire II. Hlyut turned heads at the prestigious Generation Adidas Cup in Florida last month when he was the top scorer in the group stage of the competition.
Apart from Cupps, Hlyut has been Fire II's youngest contributor this season. After debuting against FC Cincinnati II in the first game of the season, he earned a start in the U.S. Open Cup against Chicago City; Hlyut topped off an impressive performance with a goal in a game where Michael Nesci ('05) and Gio Granda ('07) also got on the scoresheet. Since then, the young attacker, who can play anywhere across the front line, has made two further substitute appearances in Next Pro, splitting time with the U-17 team as well. Hlyut is also a U.S. youth international, and is set to join the U-16s for camp this month, but is eligible for Ukraine too.
Given that he's been in and out of the Fire II team, it is unlikely that Hlyut will be near the first team anytime soon. Nonetheless, he's a name to keep an eye on given the impact he's had in his limited minutes and his continued production at the MLS Next level.
Robert Turdean (AM, 2010)
By far, the youngest player on this list is Robert Turdean, who just turned 14 earlier this year, but that's only three months younger than Cavan Sullivan, and he's viewed as the next-best prospect in his age bracket. Due to his age, it's truly impossible to know, but at least right now, Turdean looks like a future star in the making.
This season, the well-rounded and technically gifted Turdean has played with the Fire U-17s at times, though he's gone back and forth with the U-15s, where he has been getting assists for fun. He's emerged as the top player of his birth year by some distance and has helped propel the Fire U-15s to the top spot in the country this year. Despite being born in 2010, Turdean has played up for the national team as well and was one of the best performers for the U.S. U-15s when he was still only 13.
Due to his limitless potential, Turdean is arguably the Fire's #1 prospect right now, but due to his age, he probably won't receive a first team deal for a few years. However, as he's already been able to make an impact at the U-17 level, technically playing up three years, and is in every conversation on America's top young teenagers. If he continues to progress and produce at the rate he is right now, he'll be in or around the Fire II squad within 12 months and could earn a future homegrown contract.
