Chicago Fire FC is in talks with Manchester City midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, on a designated player contract, according to ESPN.
Fire will have the inside track to sign De Bruyne if he moves to MLS.
The Belgian confirmed he would be leaving the Premier League champions at the end of this season.
The 33-year-old’s contract with City is set to expire in June.
Inter Miami CF still has De Bruyne’s discovery rights, which is a right-of-first refusal mechanism MLS uses to prevent its teams from bidding against one another for a player’s services.
But Miami already has the maximum number of DPs with Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, although all three are out of contract at the end of the season.
That appears to have opened the door for the Fire.
New York City FC and D.C. United have also reportedly expressed interest, but Chicago, with only two DPs on its roster and ambitious ownership in Joe Mansueto, appears to be an ideal landing spot should De Bruyne decide to play in MLS.
