
Chicago Fire FC Announce Protected Players in Advance of 2021 MLS Expansion Draft
Published on December 13, 2021 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release
CHICAGO - Chicago Fire FC today announced its list of protected players in advance of the 2021 MLS Expansion Draft.
Scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 6:00 p.m. CT, the Expansion Draft will provide Charlotte FC with an opportunity to select up to five players in advance of its inaugural MLS campaign in 2022. Once one player has been selected from a team's unprotected roster, that team cannot lose any further players.
The following Chicago Fire players are exempt from selection in the Expansion Draft:
Protected Players (12): forward Ignacio Aliseda, defender Jonathan Bornstein, defender Jhon Espinoza, midfielder Gastón Giménez, midfielder Fabian Herbers, midfielder Stanislav Ivanov, defender Miguel Navarro, midfielder Federico Navarro, forward Chinonso Offor, defender Wyatt Omsberg, defender Boris Sekulić and defender Carlos Terán.
Homegrown Exempt Players (11): goalkeeper Chris Brady, midfielder Javier Casas Jr., midfielder Brian Gutiérrez, midfielder Alex Monis, midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr., defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda, defender Andre Reynolds II, midfielder Allan Rodríguez, forward Missael Rodríguez, goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina and defender Nicholas Slonina.
The following players are available for selection:
Unprotected Players (8): forward Robert Berić, defender Francisco Calvo, midfielder Elliot Collier, defender Johan Kappelhof, goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm, midfielder Álvaro Medrán, goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth and midfielder Luka Stojanović.
The Expansion Draft eligible player list includes players from 22 MLS clubs. All 22 clubs had the opportunity to protect up to 12 players from their roster. MLS Homegrown Players ages 25 and under (those born during or after 1996), as well as Generation adidas players that did not graduate from the program following the 2021 season are automatically protected, therefore clubs did not need to use one of their 12 selections to protect them.
The following five Clubs are exempt from this year's draft after having a player selected by Austin FC in the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft: San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, Nashville SC, LA Galaxy and Orlando City SC.
Major League Soccer Stories from December 13, 2021
- Major League Soccer to Announce 2022 MLS Schedule on December 15 - Inter Miami CF
- Academy Update: Facing Local All-Stars and Discovery Program Standouts - Inter Miami CF
- New York City FC Submit Protected List for 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - New York City FC
- LAFC Announces Protected Players Ahead of 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Los Angeles FC
- Eligible Player Lists Revealed as Charlotte FC to Select up to Five Players this Tuesday in 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Portland Timbers
- Whitecaps FC Reveal Protected Player List for Tuesday's MLS Expansion Draft - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Colorado Rapids Protect 12 Players Ahead of 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Colorado Rapids
- Philadelphia Union Announce Protected List for 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Philadelphia Union
- CF Montréal Protects 12 Players Ahead of Expansion Draft - Club de Foot Montreal
- Sporting KC Protects 12 Players Ahead of MLS Expansion Draft - Sporting Kansas City
- Chicago Fire FC Announce Protected Players in Advance of 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Chicago Fire FC
- Austin FC Announce List of Protected Players Ahead of 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Austin FC
- FC Dallas Announces Its 12 Protected Players Ahead of 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - FC Dallas
- Eligible Player Lists Revealed as Charlotte FC to Select up to Five Players this Tuesday in 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - MLS
- FC Cincinnati Protect 12 Players Ahead of Expansion Draft - FC Cincinnati
- MLS and D.C. United Announce Eligible Player List for the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft - D.C. United
- Inter Miami CF Announces Protected List for 2021 MLS Expansion Draft - Inter Miami CF
- New York City FC Re-Signs Héber, Nicolás Acevedo and Gedion Zelalem - New York City FC
- New York City FC Announces Roster Moves for 2022 - New York City FC
- Charlotte FC Announce Jaime Moreno and Antonio Ramos as Spanish-Language Broadcast Team - Charlotte FC
- Eduard Atuesta to Join Brazilian Club Palmeiras - Los Angeles FC
- Charlotte FC's Roster Going into the Expansion Draft - Charlotte FC
- Chicago Fire FC Sign Midfielder Gastón Giménez to New Contract - Chicago Fire FC
- New York City Football Club Announces City Hall Ceremony to Celebrate MLS Cup - New York City FC
- Real Salt Lake Names Pablo Mastroeni Permanent Head Coach - Real Salt Lake
- Timbers Announce Roster Status Ahead of 2022 MLS Season - Portland Timbers
- Austin FC and Q2 Announce Inaugural Q-mmunity Gives Program Grant Recipients - Austin FC
- Sporting KC Re-Signs Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh - Sporting Kansas City
- Charlotte FC Signs Brazilian Forward Vinicius Mello - Charlotte FC
- Vinicius Mello Is a 'Connector' with Loads of Potential - Charlotte FC
- Chicago Fire FC Transfer Forward Ignacio Aliseda to FC Lugano - Chicago Fire FC
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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