MLS Rumor Mill: Ligue 1 Midfielder to Fire? Absurdité!

Unfortunately, I was not able to write something up on this story yesterday afternoon, but it's still worth mentioning in case anyone missed it. MLSSoccer.com reported yesterday that Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, the captain of AC Ajaccio, is talking to Major League Soccer about a potential move.

Per the article:

It’s unclear, however, which club is after the 28-year-old midfielder. The team website initially linked Pierazzi to the Chicago Fire, but later said that was an error. Fire officials have not responded to a request for comment by MLSsoccer.com.

Even though the quote says that the initial report was an error, the fact that no one in the Fire Front Office had issued a comment still left the door just a crack. Fortunately, that door was slammed shut with a quickness.

Don't have much faith in those Pierazzi rumors. http://t.co/j4bb1k28Rp Am also told he's not #cf97 bound.

— Jeff Crandall (@jefecrandall) December 30, 2013

According to the quote, it sounds like Ajaccio was the confused party and thought Pierazzi was going to Le Feu de Chicago. That seems to be an odd thing to have confusion about. Sure, it is possible that it might still be up into the air as to which team is willing to take Pierazzi, but for Chicago's name to be specifically mentioned is curious.

AC Ajaccio: Vee has a guy who vee vould like to sell vous. Vee need to get rid of him before vee are relegated.

MLS: Yeah, sure. He looks like he could be a nice fit in our league.

ACA: So vee have a deal?

MLS: *shrugs* Yeah, why not. Maybe Chicago will take him. Let me go grab the paperwork.

Voilà! And that is silly season for you.

And if there was any doubt left about Pierazzi, here is what Guillermo had to say about the rumor:

So why would the Fire get rid of a holding mid who didn't fit what they were trying to do in order to bring in another holding mid?

— Guillermo Rivera (@FireConf) December 30, 2013

That's right. As Guillermo said, Pierazzi is a holding midfielder. The Fire just cut Egidio Arévalo Rios, and Chris Ritter is very likely to be signed as a Homegrown Player and could play as a holding midfielder. Additionally, not that players are unable to change formations, but Ajaccio plays a 4-3-3 where as Frank Yallop has stated that he is a 4-4-2 kind of guy.

So there you have it. The Fire were linked, but it was in error.