Chicago Fire: Trading Nemanja Nikolic a disastrous idea

Rumors are growing surrounding the possibility of the Chicago Fire trading away Nemanja Nikolic. Here is why that would be a terrible idea.

It’s a super simple statement, but it’s one that needs to be repeated at this point. The Chicago Fire have made a disappointing start to their 2019 campaign. They have only picked up one point when they really should have six. They failed to beat one of the worst teams in the league at home and have only scored two goals, both of which came as the result of CJ Sapong capitalizing on poor defending.

One player who’s been under scrutiny ever since the end of last season has been Nikolic. Some were questioning whether he was worth one of the vital Designated Player slots on the Fire roster, and there were a number of trade rumors surrounding the Hungarian this winter. He missed the first game of the campaign after the birth of his third child meant he wasn’t at training during the week, but he was restored to the starting line-up in the home opener against Orlando City. Nikolic had one of his worst games in a Fire kit, missing two gilt-edged chances before being subbed off with over 20 minutes to go. He then didn’t have much of a chance to do anything against the Seattle Sounders a week later.

And now, the trade rumors have risen back to prominence, with MLS expert Matthew Doyle tweeting out news that the Fire might be potentially shopping the Hungarian. However, if they want a successful 2019 season, Chicago must refuse the urge to trade away Nikolic.

It has been far from an ideal start, but the Fire front office must have patience with the forward. The aforementioned birth has clearly taken a toll. He joined the team late in LA, which made it impossible for him to feature in the contest against the Galaxy. Nikolic then looked tired against Orlando, which was likely a result of dealing with a newborn in the house.

He’s out of form at the moment, but Nikolic has the ability to turn it back on in any given week. Just look back to 2017, the year when he won the Golden Boot. He had trouble acclimating to the team and league at first, as he only scored once in the opening four games. People were already doubting his acquisition. But Nikolic then responded by grabbing six goals in the next six games and carried that momentum throughout the season, ending the year as the highest scorer in MLS.

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He also carried the goalscoring load the year after, even though he was dealing with nagging injuries and a lack of true support. Nikolic notched an impressive 19 goals in all competitions, 15 more than the third-highest scorer, a clear indication of the reliance the Fire had on the centre-forward. Chicago were full of creators on the field, but goals only seemed to come through one source.

There is simply too much potential with Nikolic in this new look attacking line-up to trade him away before we get to see what can happen. Aleksandar Katai proved he can be one of the most dangerous players in the league, with his dribbling ability wreaking havoc on defenses across the league. Przemysław Frankowski brings game-changing speed. They will soon be joined by Nicolas Gaitan, who has played with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and has represented Argentina in major tournaments. His quality is undoubted. He could finally be the number 10 Chicago have been waiting years for.

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Will talents like that behind him, it is only a matter of time until Nikolic starts scoring again. He scores goals. The Chicago Fire simply have to make sure he scores those goals in Chicago instead of somewhere else.

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