Fire in talks to trade Rogers’ rights
The Chicago Fire has begun talks with the Los Angeles Galaxy about sending the MLS rights to Robbie Rogers to the Galaxy.
“We are engaging with the Galaxy,” Fire president of soccer operations Javier Leon said Tuesday. “We have been told by the Galaxy officially that they have an interest in Robbie and would like to sign him and we are going to speak with them about what it will take to make this happen.”
Leon said there is no timetable for either the Fire signing Rogers directly or for trading him. Seattle also has expressed interest.
The Fire traded for the rights to Rogers in February in the deal that sent Dominic Oduro to Columbus. Rogers, 25, announced in February that he is gay and decided to retire as a player. He had been playing in England after transferring from the Crew.
That deal also brought Dilly Duka to the Fire.
Fire officials have said in the past that they have room under the salary cap to make a move, although it’s not clear if they have enough room to trade for a top-line player.
The eighth-place Fire (2-6-1, 7 points) has just 6 goals in nine games this season, so it would make sense for the club to seek an attacking player in a trade.
Help for the back line:The Fire has talked with Philadelphia about trading for central defender Bakary Soumare, but talks have broken off, Leon said.#147;We#146;re open to having additional discussions,#148; Leon said, adding, #147;We#146;re not close.#148;Soumare, a former Fire player, has asked to be traded and has played only once this season, Saturday against the Fire.New man up top: Saturday#146;s 1-0 loss to Philadelphia marked the season debut at forward for Patrick Nyarko, normally the right midfielder. Nyarko replaced Designated Player Sherjill MacDonald at that spot.#147;I thought he was dangerous,#148; Fire coach Frank Klopas said. #147;He combined well with Rolfe. He did well. Now we#146;ve just got to finish our chances.#148;MacDonald came down with strep throat late last week and wasn#146;t at Toyota Park for the match Saturday, but his absence didn#146;t affect the starting lineup.#147;Mac was sick, but regardless I was going to play with Patrick and Rolfe even if he wasn#146;t sick,#148; Klopas said. #147;I didn#146;t change Patrick up there. The two weeks that we had that break I looked at different ways. It#146;s unfortunate that Mac got sick. He would have given us another option off the bench because Maicon (Santos) with his knee, he wasn#146;t at his fullest from a fitness standpoint. But I was going to play with Patrick and Rolfe regardless.#148;The latest injury:Santos will be out for a while with a shoulder injury, Klopas said.Santos, a backup forward who leads the team with 2 goals this season, suffered the injury in the second half against Philadelphia. Klopas was not sure of the extent of the injury.#147;I think he#146;s going to be out for a while,#148; Klopas said.MacDonald is day to day as he recovers. He is uncertain for this weekend#146;s game at Philadelphia.Follow Orrin on Twitter @orrin_schwarz