Striker Robert Beric is the Fire’s first Designated Player signing of the offseason.
He shouldn’t be the last one.
As expected, on Saturday the Fire announced they had acquired the 28-year-old from French club Saint-Etienne. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Beric’s contract runs through 2021 with a team option for 2022.
“I’m very happy to be in Chicago, and I think this is going to be a great new era for the Fire,” Beric said in a news release. “I am looking forward to getting to work with my new teammates and starting the new season.”
With Beric in the fold, the Fire have 18 players and can now fill a gameday squad. But their roster still lacks depth, and there are questions about the midfield, back line, and goalkeeping positions.
Crucially, the Fire still have two Designated Player spots to use. The retirement of Bastian Schweinsteiger opened up one slot, and the departures of Nemanja Nikolic and Aleksandar Katai freed up the other two. Nicolas Gaitan, who could have been a Designated Player if he returned, is not expected back.
This season, getting the Designated Player spots right feels more important than ever for the Fire.
Not only do the Fire need game-changing players up and down the field after heavy roster changes, but they’re trying to re-introduce themselves to the city. Filling Soldier Field and creating an atmosphere would be helped by prominent players, and drawing eyes to local broadcasts wherever they end up would be aided by a decent team fueled by an entertaining product on the field.
And it seems like the Fire agree.
In an interview with the Sun-Times earlier this month, owner Joe Mansueto said “people want to play here” and players see what kind of investments are going into the Fire. He stressed that the club ”will put together a very strong team that will be fun to watch [and] entertaining.”
“We’re going for the best talent we can find,” Mansueto said. “We will fill those three DP slots with really strong talent, and some of them may cost a fair amount of money, yes.”
Beric, who has 25 appearances for the Slovenian national team, will be expected to fill the scoring void left behind by Nikolic. Beric joined Saint-Etienne in 2015 and collected 34 goals in 81 appearances across all competitions for the French side.
At 6-2, Beric figures to provide an aerial element in the box the Fire have lacked in recent seasons. His arrival also means CJ Sapong is not the lone striker on the roster, and can free Sapong to be used in various ways like he was last season.
“We are very excited to add Robert to our roster ahead of the upcoming season,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said in a news release. “Robert is hard-working, intelligent number nine who has the ability to score goals at a high rate. We are looking forward to welcoming him and his family to Chicago.”
