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The Chicago Fire made it official earlier today: Luis Solignac will be back in Chicago in 2017.
NEWS | #cf97 has re-signed forward Luis Solignac. Welcome back, @LuchoSoli!
— Chicago Fire (@ChicagoFire) January 5, 2017
Details: https://t.co/Rw55MRhYCF pic.twitter.com/2MB2trjtev
Solignac has signed a two year deal with the club, with an option for the third year. This was much-anticipated, with Solignac providing solid depth for the Fire, and now the move is official.
The 25-year-old Solignac has become known as something of a journeyman. After growing up in Argentina, he played for his hometown club Atlético Platense in 2008, before being loaned out to Sporting Clube de Braga and Atlético Banfield. After his tenure in South America he left home and went to Sweden. After joining Djurgårdens IF Fotboll, where he struggled to the tune of one goal in 14 appearances. He then moved to Finland joining IFK Mariehamn and really burned up the Veikkausliiga league after scoring 20 goals in 41 appearances over two seasons. He made his move to MLS in 2015, spending a season and a half with the Colorado Rapids, before joining the Fire last summer.
Hot (Time) Take
Solignac’s signing is an interesting one, as it takes an international spot for a player who likely won’t start. Even though you could say the same for David Arshakyan, I’m not convinced that it’s a good idea to use an International spot for a depth player.
This is really a tough call. If the Fire end up signing Jorge Bava, that would leave the club with no more international spots and could render the Schweinsteiger deal moot. Other than that, I really like Solignac’s signing— he provides depth at the striker position in case Nemanja Nikolić or Michael de Leeuw were to get injured.
I don’t know. Maybe he or another international player gets a green card. But overall this Solignac signing is an interesting one— especially given the Fire’s transfer targets at this point in the off-season. It tough to say if it’s a good one or not— we will have to see how the rest of the transfer window plays out.