No Nantes: Fire reject offer for Accam

The Chicago Fire fended off French club FC Nantes on Deadline Day to keep star player David Accam in the Windy City for a bit longer.

Fire fans did not expect much of anything on the final day European clubs can bring in players until 2017, but it all changed with an early morning Taylor Twellman tweet that said FC Nantes were in pursuit of Chicago’s leading goal scorer.

Reports changed throughout the day depending on who you read. Some claimed FC Nantes were out of the running early but ESPN FC said there was a last ditch effort early in the afternoon. The offer was apparently just north of $3 million but the Fire deemed that figure too low to part ways with their most electric player.

One reason the Fire are hesitant to let Accam go is because they themselves would like to keep the 25-year-old in the fold for the foreseeable future. They have been in contract extension talks with the winger but nothing has materialized at this point.

It is no secret Accam wants to ply his trade in England, and at 25 he could be getting antsy for a move. The only real issue holding Accam back is his lack of caps with Ghana’s national team. In order to play in England, he would need to be capped in 75 percent of Ghana’s international matches over a two-year span.

But that rule does not apply for other countries and it is possible that Accam may push to go to a more prominent league in order to potentially gain favor for more playing time, which could help for a potentially more lucrative move to England.

All of this is hypothetical at this point, but chances are Accam will not want to stick around with the Fire through 2018, which is the length of his current contract. If he does, great. But if he wants a move and can net the team $5 million or whatever their asking price is, then I would hope the Fire would allow it. Accam has played his heart out for a poor team and is almost always the most exciting part of a Chicago Fire match. He deserves to follow the career path he set out for himself.

I’m happy he is still here but today showed the clock is likely ticking on his time in Chicago. Stoke City is no longer the only threat and they probably haven’t been for some time. It was FC Nantes today but it could be a team in Spain or Germany or even in France the next time around and that may be the deal that eventually gets done.

But here’s to Accam still being the best thing about the 2016 Fire. A reason to keep tuning in.