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The Chicago Fire’s second offseason under Gregg Berhalter is now rolling, with five signings already secured before New Year’s Eve. The arrivals likely aren’t done yet, but with the MLS roster now at its limit of 30 players, someone must be sold for every new signing this winter.
So far, the club has already bid farewell to homegrown star Brian Gutiérrez in a $5 million move to Chivas, as well as the likes of Tom Barlow, Rominigue Kouamé, and Chase Gasper. New arrivals include Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Anton Salétros, and Robin Lod, all signings that will strengthen the starting team from the start of the season.
There’s more work to do, though, so here are four players who could potentially leave in January.
Kellyn Acosta
The most obvious player on this list is Acosta, whose two seasons in Chicago have devolved from hope and excitement to a nightmare. The 58-time U.S. international was, rightfully, the top free agent on the MLS market in 2024, but has inexplicably struggled to lock down a starting spot for the Fire for most of the last year and a half. This offseason, the Fire have already signed three midfielders who will likely be above him in the pecking order (André Franco, Anton Salétros, and Robin Lod); the staff has shown consistent faith in rising star Djé D’Avilla, while awarding new contracts to both Mauricio Pineda and Sergio Oregel.
Because of his expensive TAM-level salary and the fact that he clearly has not been in Berhalter’s plans since May, moving him is now the Fire’s top priority in terms of outgoing. Though he harbored ambitions of moving to Europe earlier in his career, that seems unlikely now for Acosta, who will turn 31 this summer. This means a move within MLS is likely the only way for the Fire to move forward, though his massive contract makes a trade incredibly difficult, if not impossible, without taking on a chunk of his pay.
The most likely route for the Fire to move on from Acosta would be by using one of the team’s two annual contract buyouts, which would grant them full salary cap and roster relief. The player would receive their full salary and be a free agent who could sign wherever they pleased, within MLS or abroad. Last year’s buyouts were Arnaud Souquet and Gastón Giménez.
Omari Glasgow
Another player who fell out of favor in 2025 was Glasgow, who signed with the first team last December following three seasons with Chicago Fire II. Guyana’s all-time leading scorer had earned his MLS deal and featured in each of the first 15 matches of the year. He also made four MLS starts, three of which were as a right back, emerging as a viable option on the backline and recording an impressive 90-minute performance against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in April.
However, after that stretch of 15-straight, Glasgow featured for just seven more first team minutes, and was eventually loaned to USL Championship side Loudoun United. The half-season loan did not go according to plan, as Glasgow managed just two assists from 13 appearances and only made the starting eleven five times. While the failure of the loan from an individual standpoint isn't anything to be alarmed about given the quality he showed at the start of the season and at the international level, it certainly doesn't help his ambitions of featuring for the first team in 2026.
Because Glasgow requires an international slot and is, at best, the third player on the right back depth chart, it's difficult to imagine he'll stay on the roster. The converted winger still has one more year on his MLS team, but unless he receives a Green Card to alleviate his international player roster status, he occupies valuable space with potentially minimal output. The Fire have four right backs on the roster and really only need two, so a trade within the league or move to Europe could be on the cards.
Justin Reynolds
As was just mentioned, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which all four right backs on the Fire's roster are still there come the start of the 2026 season. Reynolds is the other one right now, and while his homegrown and domestic statues make him significantly more roster-friendly than Glasgow, the possibility of him leaving should not be completely ruled out.
There were various points during 2025 at which leaving mid-season seemed like a distinct possibility, though it didn't happen, and that worked out for the best as the 21-year-old went on to score the deciding goal against Inter Miami that clinched a playoff spot for the Fire .Reynolds did build on that unlikely goal – his first in MLS, coming in his first appearance in nearly six months – and appeared again with an impactful cameo on Decision Day against the New England Revolution. But with Leo Barroso set to continue his development in 2026 and Jonathan Dean remaining an ever-reliable backup, there isn't much of a pathway to minutes for whoever is the third right back on the roster, let alone fourth, and Reynolds could re-enter transfer conversations.
Admittedly, a winter departure for Reynolds seems far more unlikely than it did five months ago. He re-established himself in the first team plans and made history, becoming the first homegrown player born in the City of Chicago to score for the club. But, given the depth at right back, if the Fire really need to cut extra players from the supplemental roster, Reynolds could be among the first to go and would be a contender for a trade within MLS.
Maren Haile-Selassie
In terms of players whom the Fire might not desperately want to lose, but who they could anyway, Haile-Selassie is the top name that comes to mind. The Swiss winger has spent three seasons in Chicago, but with Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel being two of the team's top players, there isn't much of a pathway to minutes for him. Additionally, the Fire reinforced the right wing with the singing of Robin Lod, who can play either through the middle or out wide.
Haile-Selassie has been a good contributor over his three seasons. He was the team's top goalscorer in 2023, and a reliable starter in a variety of positions in 2024. In 2025, however, he rarely started, only coming into the lineup when someone else couldn't start. When he played, he performed, adding five goal contributions in his five starts, but those were very few and far between.
If an offer from overseas – potentially from Switzerland or Germany – presents itself, the Fire probably would not stand in Haile-Selassie's way. After Kellyn Acosta, he's the most likely player on the 20-man senior roster to depart, so if the Fire end up making two or more signings in the remaining months of the window, an exit is pretty feasible. The wide positions are reinforced by likely starters Bamba and Zinckernagel, as well as Robin Lod, Chris Mueller and up-and-comer Dylan Borso.
