Fire, Torres Reportedly In “Advanced Negotiations”

The Chicago Fire are nearing the point where signing anyone— literally anyone— would be a net gain for the squad. With injuries plaguing the roster such that there are barely enough healthy players to name a full gameday 18, and those that remain seemingly unable to rise to the challenge, the team as currently constituted is sinking fast. The Fire need reinforcements— plain and simple.

Many of Chicago’s transfer targets failed to materialize. Juan Quintero, Lee Nguyen, Iker Casillas, all ended up being filed away in the What Might Have Been section of the front office’s storage area.

One name that’s popped up with some consistency this year— Fernando Torres. Ever since the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker announced he was leaving Atlético Madrid at the end of this season, MLS has been sounded out as a possible destination. The Fire hold his discovery rights, although rumors seemed to indicate that Montreal may have been doing an end-run around MLS’ own transfer negotiation policies. There was also some scuttlebutt pointing Torres to Houston, as the player seemed to prefer playing in a warmer climate.

There were reports earlier in the month that Nelson Rodriguez traveled to Spain to personally conduct transfer talks, although those reports were later walked back. Given the Fire’s recent history with transfer targets— what’s good, Jermaine Jones and Didier Drogba— it seemed more and more like Torres was going to slip through the cracks.

Which, as we’ve argued here previously, may not have been the worst outcome.

But it seems that the saga isn’t over quite yet. Earlier today, MLSSoccer.com cited reports from Fox Sports Mexico saying that the Fire were in “advanced negotiations” with Torres. Fresh off a week that saw him lift the Europa League trophy and scoring a brace against Eibar in his last game for Atleti, Torres is reportedly “very close” to signing a deal with the Fire.

If this does happen, Torres wouldn’t be able to officially join the Men In Red until the secondary transfer window opens on July 10th. So if this is legit, the Fire still face a long and painful stretch of having to face very tough teams with a depleted roster.

So what do you think? Is this a good move? Are the Fire in Beggars Can’t Be Choosers territory? Or is this a disaster in the making? Let us know in the comments!