Aug 14, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Fire midfielder John Goossens (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Orlando City FC during the first half at Toyota Park. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Preseason 2017: Recapping the wildest off-season yet for Real Salt Lake

Preseason 2017: Recapping the wildest off-season yet for Real Salt Lake by Jordan Jacobsen

USWNT: 25-player camp announced for the SheBelieves Cup by Tyler Fisher

Hot on the heels of a 1-0 win in their first Preseason game, the Chicago Fire have released a roster update.

The update includes several new trialists: Midfielder Miguel Alvarado, LW/CAM Juan Pablo Caffa, and MLS journeyman GK Chris Konopka. Boyd Okwuono and Drew Beckie have trained with the club since the club beginning of this preseason.

Of all the trialists who featured in the first preseason match, Okwuono playing at right back earned the most praise.

So far Okwuono does not look terrible at fullback. #cf97 — Brian Oleary (@olearyscowfc) February 5, 2017

The team, itself, received the approval from Head Coach Veljko Paunovic: “This is the first game of preseason and after a week of hard work here in Florida, I’m happy with the performance.”

Some Chicago Fire starters from last season never made it onto the pitch: CDM/CM Polster, RW Alvarez, ST/CAM De Leeuw, RB Harrington. One game into the preseason is too soon to look any deeper into these decisions, however.

Chicago Fire’s next preseason game against the Philadelphia Union will be streamed on Thursday, February 9th.

Led by Alejandro Bedoya, Maurice Edu, and Chris Pontius, the Union are a solid team that the Fire hope to challenge for a playoff spot. Dax McCarty is expected to play; Matt Polster is not, and may miss the rest of preseason due to a knee sprain.

The arrival of more trialists suggests that GM Nelson Rodriguez has finished all major transfers during this window, but there still is time.

Certain starting spots remain up for grabs:

Right Back: Harrington, Okwuono, Beckie, Calistri

Center Back: Meira and Campbell vying for the spot next to Kappelhof

Right wing: Johnson, Alvarez, Goossens

CAM/Second Striker: Solignac, de Leeuw, Caffa

Goalkeeper: Lampson, Bava, Konopka

With the opening fixture at Columbus less than four weeks out, Coach Paunovic certainly seems to be making the most of this available time, but the question is: will GM Nelson Rodriguez?

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