MLS Transfers: Hurtado Sent to Chivas USA

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado's short lived career in Chicago is over as he was traded to Chivas USA for allocation money on Friday. Hurtado started 19 games for the Fire since he joined the team in January in a trade with Seattle.

In a disappointing spell in Chicago, Hurtado was never able to find his Best XI form that he had in Seattle. He wasn't the only problem in the defense but certainly didn't inspire much confidence. The more interesting part of this move is what happens now. Hurtado's salary was $210,000 so the team clears a large amount of salary and gained allocation money so it seems that there will be more moves.

"We felt this was a good opportunity to gain additional allocation money that will allow for flexibility moving forward," said Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop. "I'd like to thank Jhon for his time here in Chicago this season and wish him well with Chivas USA."

The Jermaine Jones saga continues with MLS flip-flopping on his allocation status and in the end, they will probably flip a coin to see where he goes. The Fire have had free agent French forward Florent Sinama Pongolle on trial this past week so this move could have freed up the money to sign the forward. Pongolle is a 29-year-old forward who has spent time at Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon and FC Rostov. He was also capped once by France.

He's coming off an ACL injury in March so the Fire are most likely testing out his health before making a move for him. This move would bring even more potential firepower and competition for places which is always a good thing. It's also possible that the Fire are clearing space to pay Jermaine Jones even more money or there is another player out there the team is looking at that no one knows about.

The team is now thin at center back with Ianni, Soumare and Larentowicz as the three center back options on the team. No matter what happens, it's clear the team is continuing to try to improve and will continue to be busy.

What are your thoughts on the move? What's the team's next move?