CHICAGO, IL–The Fire were in the market for an Young Designated Player after the pickups of Xherdan Shaqiri and Kacper Przyblyko, and they have found one in Mexican U-23 international and Atlas winger. Jairo Torres (pronounced: HI-row TOR-ehs).
Torres will join the club once his contract with Atlas runs out on May 1st and pending receipt of his P-1 visa and international transfer certificate. After May 1st, he will be under contract with the Fire through 2025.
“Jairo checks all the boxes that we were looking for in a Young Designated Player, and we’re very pleased to acquire his services ahead of the Club’s 25th season in MLS,” said Chicago Fire FC Sporting Director Georg Heitz. “Jairo has been one of the most productive young players in Liga MX and was an integral part of Atlas’ championship-winning team in 2021. We expect him to be a very important and exciting player for the Club and look forward to welcoming him to Chicago on May 1. I’d also like to say a special thank you to our Technical Director, Sebastian Pelzer, as this move would not have been possible without all his hard work over the last several months.”
Torres, 21, climbed the Academy ranks at Atlas before making his professional debut with the club on November 19th, 2016, at just 16-years-old. The Guadalajara-native has since played in 108 matches (80 starts) for Atlas across all competitions. In the 2021 Liga MX Apertura (Opening) season, Torres started 20 of the 21 games in which he played, including all six games in the Liga MX playoffs, during which the team advanced past Monterrey and UNAM Pumas before coming from behind to defeat León in the two-leg final to capture its first Liga MX championship in 70 years.
So far this season, Torres has made 28 appearances across all competitions, starting in 27 matches. Among players under the age of 23 in Liga MX, he ranks first in key passes, second in precise crosses, third in expected goals and assists and third in attacking one-on-one situations, while also ranking fourth in overall goals and assists.
He will occupy an international slot on Chicago’s 2022 roster. Torres is the third Designated Player on the Fire’s 2022 roster, alongside midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri and Gastón Giménez.
Chicago Fire
Eastern Conference
