With some open spots on the roster, the Chicago Fire were very active this MLS transfer window. The Fire first announced that they were in a deal that helped sent Alejandro Bedoya to the Philadelphia Union. Chicago got a massive haul in return, getting back General and Targeted Allocation Money as well as Philly's first round pick in the SuperDraft next season plus Discovery Priority on a player and swapped spots in the MLS Allocation Order

New faces in Chicago

They also acquired two new players, two forwards in fact, in David Arshakyan and Luis Solignac. Arshakyan was brought in from Lithuanian side FK Trakai and will be eligible to play once his papers get cleared. He will be signed as a Special Discovery Player. Solignac was made a deal with the Colorado Rapids in a trade where Chicago sent General Allocation Money for the forward. He has scored three goals and has assisted four times since he joined the Rapids back in May of last year. Solignac will most likely be the backup or play right next to Michael De Leeuw as the striker. With Kennedy Igboananike out of the picture now that he has been traded, it's up to Solignac and De Leeuw to lead the Fire from the striker position. 

The Fire will look to David Accam to lead the offense now (Photo Credit : Dean Reid - VAVEL USA)
The Fire will look to David Accam to lead the offense now (Photo Credit : Dean Reid - VAVEL USA)

Chicago will be looking for all three points after earning a draw against the New York Red Bulls. Although Chicago walked away with a point in the match, it felt more like a loss. The Fire had a 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes of the game before a late equalizer off a corner tied the game for NYRB. The two dropped points kept Chicago in the bottom of the MLS standings. They are a point behind the Columbus Crew and have a game in hand of their close rivals. But with the USOC semi-finals coming up in about a week, head coach Veljko Paunovic may opt to rest his best players for that game. 

Real Salt Lake looking to bounce back 

Chicago's opponents, Real Salt Lake, are also looking to bounce back after a bad result in their last game. RSL lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in a mid-week game and will try to grab three points at home against the Fire. It also helps RSL that Chicago doesn't have the greatest away record. 

Real Salt Lake are in a tight spot in terms of their standing in the table. RSL are currently 5th in the Western Conference with 34 points and are tied with Sporting Kansas City on points. They have a game in hand of SKC and a win could jump them to 3rd place, jump the LA Galaxy as well. But LA has two games in hand over RSL, so trying to jump a spot into 4th is more realistic. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu