Chicago Fire have acquired forward Tom Barlow from New York Red Bulls, sending up to $400k in General Allocation Money in the opposite direction as part of the deal.
Barlow departs Red Bull Arena after five seasons, where he totaled 140 appearances across all competitions while scoring 18 goals and adding three assists. Barlow helped RBNY to the postseason in all five seasons with the club, helping the Eastern Conference team extend its playoff streak to 14 straight years in 2023.
Before taking the first-team stage, Barlow rose through the ranks with Red Bulls 2. With the second team, the 28-year-old scored 21 goals in 44 appearances to break through and jumpstart his career in 2019.
“We want to thank Tom for his time with the club; he always represented the club well on and off the field,” Red Bulls head of sport Jochen Schneider said in a release.
“Tom was a true professional and had a great attitude that set a great example for the locker room. We wish him and his family the best in this next step of his career.”
Barlow leaves a constant playoff contender for a team that hasn’t played a postseason game since 2017. The Fire parted ways with head coach Ezra Hendrickson in early May after a series of poor results to start the 2023 season, where they would go on to finish in 13th place in the Eastern Conference table.
However, with Barlow and the likes of midfielders Brian Gutierrez and Xherdan Shaqiri as well as goalkeeper Chris Brady, the team will hope to get back on track to winning games with new head coach Frank Klopas. Klopas took over as interim boss after Hendrickson’s departure and was named the team’s new permanent boss earlier this month.
“We are pleased to welcome Tom to Chicago as we continue to build our roster for the 2024 season,” Fire sporting director Georg Heitz said in a release.
“After identifying our needs for the upcoming season, we aimed to add a forward with MLS experience who can influence matches in various ways and help to provide more depth and competition within the squad.
“We believe that Tom’s speed, mentality, and knowledge of the league will be very beneficial to the team, and we look forward to seeing his contributions on the field.”
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