Chicago Fire FC are pursuing Leon Goretzka and remain in talks with Robert Lewandowski, ESPN reported, giving the Major League Soccer club a potentially ambitious midseason transfer play involving two former Bayern Munich teammates.
A source confirmed to ESPN that Chicago are pursuing Goretzka, the Germany midfielder, and that the club is still talking with Lewandowski, the Barcelona and Poland forward. The source described the Lewandowski talks as close but not completed.
Chicago Talks Still Need A Deal
The important boundary is that neither move has been announced. ESPN reported the talks through a source who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Both players are free agents, with their current contracts expiring at the end of the month, according to ESPN. That makes the pursuit easier to frame than a fee-heavy transfer chase, but the roster mechanics are still complicated.
Chicago have one Designated Player spot left. ESPN noted that signing both players would require creativity with the salary budget, potentially by structuring one deal so it would not count as a DP this season.
Goretzka Would Bring Bayern Resume To MLS
Goretzka, 31, spent eight successful seasons with Bayern Munich. ESPN credited him with 312 appearances for the club in all competitions, seven Bundesliga titles and one Champions League title.
He previously played in the Bundesliga for VfL Bochum and Schalke 04. At international level, ESPN listed him with 70 appearances for Germany.
That profile explains why Chicago's interest is more than name shopping. Goretzka would give the Fire a central midfielder with major European and international experience at a point when MLS clubs increasingly use summer windows to reshape the top end of their squads.
Lewandowski Talks Add The Bigger Scoring Bet
Lewandowski, 37, remains the louder attacking name. ESPN described him as one of Europe's most prolific strikers for nearly two decades, with more than 900 club appearances and 662 club goals.
He scored 19 goals in 46 appearances for Barcelona last season, according to the report. His career also includes spells with Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Lech Poznan.
Goretzka and Lewandowski were teammates at Bayern from 2018 to 2022, a detail that gives Chicago's pursuit a practical roster thread rather than two disconnected headline names.
For the Fire, the next step is not presentation photos or shirt sales. It is solving the MLS roster math well enough to turn talks into registrations, because one open DP slot does not automatically make two high-profile free agents fit.