Robert Lewandowski En Route to Chicago, Possible Debut Against Vancouver

CHICAGO — New Chicago Fire signing Robert Lewandowski is currently en route to the United States, and all indications are that he will be available for selection next Thursday against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Polish center forward arrives in Chicago later today and will be formally introduced to the media on Tuesday.

Lewandowski, who was announced as a new Fire player about two weeks ago, joined the club as a free agent. Despite completing the signing in June, like all players coming to the United States, Lewandowski requires a U.S. work permit to train or play. That necessary clearance was secured in the last few days; before leaving Poland, he stopped by the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, with Monday set as his arrival date in Chicago. Lewandowski spent a few days training with his former club Legia Warsaw; the Fire will train as a team on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the Vancouver match.

Whether he features in Thursday's match will be up to Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, and, given the forward's lack of a full preseason and just two training sessions with his new team, it would not be a surprise if he were not in the starting XI against the Whitecaps. Recent blockbuster summer arrivals in MLS such as Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Thomas Müller (Vancouver Whitecaps), and Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC) all made their debuts as second half substitutes shortly after joining their respective clubs.

As previously announced, Lewandowski will be a Designated Player (DP) on the Fire’s first-team roster. Although the signing does not involve any transfer fee, the center forward’s huge salary means that the only way he could be on the roster is as one of the team’s three DPs. The Fire’s other two are Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers.

To be cap-compliant, the Fire are switching their roster construction model to a 3 DP/3 U-22 Initiative model, removing Puso Dithejane's U-22 Initiative status. The South African winger is now a standard senior roster player, with Djé D'Avilla, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, and Viktor Radojević remaining as the three U-22 players. When a player's roster designation changes in this way, their contract or salary typically does not change, just how it is counted against the salary cap.

"More competition" up front – Shokalook

Lewandowski will be one of three strikers on the Fire's roster this season, with much of the conversation around the team centering on the potential partnership between him and MLS Golden Boot leader Hugo Cuypers. While how that duo works together is yet to be seen, it means that 23-year-old Jason Shokalook is now the #3 center forward on the roster.

Shokalook, who has appeared eight times in MLS this season (all substitute appearances totaling 38 minutes), spoke with MIR97 Media on Sunday afternoon following a two-goal outing against New York Red Bulls II. The reigning MLS Next Pro Golden Boot winner was substituted after 45 minutes, presumably to preserve fitness for any potential first-team involvement this week.

"It's an amazing move to get Lewandowski; we're all excited to have him," Shokalook said. "It's more competition. But it's amazing to have a world-class striker at the club. I'm excited to work with him and learn from him."

Shokalook has only appeared twice this season for Fire II, but given the recent changes to the center forward depth chart, that could change in the second half of the season. The 2024 MLS SuperDraft selection has three goals in 135 MLS Next Pro minutes, adding to his two U.S. Open Cup goals for the first team.

Other first team players to feature in Sunday's 3-0 win included center back Christopher Cupps, who was the clear man of the match and notched his first career MLS Next Pro assist. Dylan Borso and David Poreba each played 45 minutes, with Borso getting more reps as a right fullback, while 16-year-old Robert Turdean continued his steady development by playing the full 90 minutes.