Chicago Fire strengthen midfield with signing of Ousmane Doumbia | OneFootball

Ousmane Doumbia joins Chicago Fire on loan from Swiss Super League club Lugano for the remainder of the 2023 Major League Soccer season.

Doumba joins as a Designated Player, after featuring Servette, Winterthur, FC Zurich, and the previously mentioned Lugano in the Swiss Super League.

Though Chicago have the option to make Doumbia's stay permanent at the end of the season with a purchase option, he would not retain the DP status.

"We’re very pleased to welcome Ousmane to the club," Chicago sporting director Georg Heitz stated.

"He is a highly talented and versatile player with a skillset well-suited for this league, and his addition will immediately bring more quality and leadership to the squad. We look forward to welcoming him to Chicago very soon as we strive to achieve our goals in 2023."

The 31-year-old will join the Chicago squad immediately and be eligible for selection once the league's secondary transfer window opens on July 5. Doumbia will share defensive midfield responsibilities alongside Federico Navarro, Fabian Herbers, Mauricio Pineda, and Gaston Giminez.

This isn't the first time that Chicago have signed a player from Lugan, previously depending on Maren Haile-Selassie while loan from Doumbia's previous club. The two teams have a connection as they're both owned by Joe Mansueto.

Chicago need all the help they can get as they aim to turn their season around after a poor start that saw them relieve Ezra Hendrickson of his head coaching duties, who was replaced by Frank Klopas. They sit 12th in the Eastern Conference table on 23 points, just three points away from a playoff spot and travel to take on Orlando City on July 1.