Fire trying to balance selling with winning

Model MLS franchises can sell players to European clubs and win matches. Under owner Joe Mansueto, sporting director Georg Heitz and technical director Sebastian Pelzer, the Fire haven’t struck that balance.

The sale Tuesday of striker Jhon Duran to Aston Villa was the Fire’s second eight-figure transaction with an English Premier League team in the last year after goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina’s move to Chelsea. In 2021, the team sent winger Przemyslaw Frankowski to French side RC Lens, granting the Polish attacker an opportunity in another of Europe’s biggest leagues.

While those deals are strong signs for player development and scouting, they need to be complemented by capable replacements and progress on the field. The Fire must find a new striker after Kacper Przybylko had an underwhelming 2022. They’re hoping Chris Brady can play at least as well as Slonina did a year ago, and they still lack anybody with Frankowski’s speed.

Most importantly, the Fire aren’t selling players off successful teams. The 2021 season ended with an interim coach after the dismissal of Raphael Wicky, and 2022 concluded with intensifying questions about the on-field direction of the franchise under Mansueto, Heitz and Pelzer.

As the Fire begin 2023, they’ll be trying again to pair development and victories.

“It’s a tricky situation, but it’s not a bad situation to be in,” coach Ezra Hendrickson said. “It means that people are looking at your players, and it means that your recruiting department is doing a good job of finding players, whether it be from abroad or within Homegrowns, as we saw with Gaga and Duran.”

Their departures seemed inevitable long before they left. Duran was a sought-after prospect with a big name before joining the Fire from Colombia, and Slonina emerged as perhaps the world’s most promising young goalie soon after becoming the club’s starter in 2021.

Cashing in on them was the right move for the players and the Fire. Outside of consistently losing, one of the worst things MLS teams can do is hold players back from bigger stages and fatter paychecks abroad. Even with its recent growth and improvement, MLS is still notches below the top leagues in Europe and not a destination for the best players.

Yet, those sales can’t be considered untainted positives. Because of Mansueto’s finances, the Fire aren’t hurting for money, and the team can only use a portion of the moves’ proceeds toward the roster. The biggest recent purchases — Xherdan Shaqiri and Jairo Torres — did not live up to expectations in 2022, and Heitz and Pelzer don’t have a track record that should instill confidence for any such future acquisitions paying off.

With Mansueto, Heitz and Pelzer in charge, the Fire clearly have tried to win. Selling Slonina, Duran and Frankowski isn’t a sign the franchise is interested in just pocketing cash. It’s a reality in the world of soccer.

It’s also a reality that the Fire need to win after over a decade of struggles. Making money off young players can’t be their only victories.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we remain competitive and we still are able to operate as a business, a profiting business,” Hendrickson said.