Chicago Fire sign defender Boris Sekulić

Sometimes, transfers come together extremely quickly. Other times, they take time. Lots of time. Such is the case with new Chicago Fire signing Boris Sekulić.

It’s been nearly a month since the initial reports about the transfer, and today Chicago Fire FC finally announced the club has acquired Sekulić—who primarily plays as a right back—via a transfer with Górnik Zabrze in the Polish Ekstraklasa league.

Sekulić actually played his final match in Poland last night. He started at right back in a 2-0 win over Arka Gdynia. A source tells Hot Time in Old Town Górnik Zabrze initially didn’t want to let Sekulić go because he’s such a key player there, so the Fire reached a compromise that allowed him to play through last night’s match.

The Slovakia National Team defender is under contract with the Fire through the 2022 season. He’ll be added to the roster once he receives his International Transfer Certificate and P1 Visa.

“Boris is a talented and smart defender that will immediately strengthen our backline,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said in a news release. “We are excited to welcome him to Chicago ahead of the 2020 season.”

Sekulić, 28, joins the Fire with a lot of professional experience, including 285 appearances across all competitions in Serbia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and, most recently, Poland.

He joined Górnik Zabrze in 2019, and since then he’s made more than 30 appearances and scored two goals. Internationally, Sekulić has two caps for the Slovakia National Team, after becoming a Slovakian citizen in 2017. He was born in Serbia.

He’ll join the Fire’s training camp in Los Angeles, and will occupy an international slot on the roster. The club freed up an international slot earlier this week after trading Raheem Edwards to Minnesota United for Wyatt Omsberg.

To learn more about Sekulić, here’s a piece we wrote last month.