Robert Beric shouldn’t be lone Designated Player Fire add this offseason

Striker Robert Beric is the Fire’s first Designated Player signing of the offseason.

He shouldn’t be the last one.

As expected, the Fire announced Saturday they had acquired the 28-year-old from French club Saint-Etienne. Financial terms of were not disclosed, but Beric’s contract runs through 2021 with a team option for 2022.

“I’m very happy to be in Chicago, and I think this is going to be a great new era for the Fire,” Beric said in a news release. “I am looking forward to getting to work with my new teammates and starting the new season.”

With Beric in the fold, the Fire have 18 players and now can field a game-day squad. But even before they fill out their roster, there are questions about the midfield, back line and goalie.

The Fire still have two Designated Player spots to use. The retirement of Bastian Schweinsteiger opened up one slot, and the departures of Nemanja Nikolic and Aleksandar Katai freed up the other two. Nicolas Gaitan, who could be a Designated Player if he returns, is not expected back.

Getting the Designated Player spots right feels more important than ever for the Fire.

Not only do they need game-changing players all over the field after heavy roster changes, but they’re trying to reintroduce themselves to the city. Filling Soldier Field and creating an atmosphere would be helped by prominent players, and drawing viewers to local broadcasts, wherever they end up, would be aided by an entertaining, winning team.

And it seems the Fire agree.

In an interview with the Sun-Times this month, owner Joe Mansueto said that “people want to play here” and that players see what kind of investments the Fire are making. He stressed that the club “will put together a very strong team that will be fun to watch [and] entertaining.

“We’re going for the best talent we can find,” Mansueto said. “We will fill those three DP slots with really strong talent, and some of them may cost a fair amount of money, yes.”

Beric, who has 25 appearances for the Slovenia national team, will be expected to fill the scoring void left by Nikolic. Beric joined Saint-Etienne in 2015 and scored 34 goals in 81 appearances across all competitions.

At 6-2, Beric figures to provide an aerial element in the box. His arrival also means CJ Sapong is not the lone striker on the roster. That can allow Sapong to be used in various ways, like he was last season.

“We are very excited to add Robert to our roster ahead of the upcoming season,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said in a news release. “Robert is hard-working, intelligent number nine who has the ability to score goals at a high rate. We are looking forward to welcoming him and his family to Chicago.”

NOTE: The Fire added David Zdrilic as an assistant coach. Zdrilic most recently served as an assistant for German club RB Leipzig’s U-19 team. He also has worked as a soccer broadcaster.