The Chicago Fire have signed a promising young attacker who helped Atlas FC win its first Mexican league title in 70 years — but you’ll have to wait a few months to see him in Major League Soccer.
The Fire on Saturday announced they acquired winger Jairo Torres from the Liga MX team for a reported transfer fee of $6 million. As part of the deal, Torres won’t join the Fire until May 1.
Torres, 21, signed a young designated player contract that runs through 2025.
“Jairo checks all the boxes that we were looking for in a young designated player,” Fire sporting director Georg Heitz said in a statement. “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.”
Torres, a Guadalajara native, made his professional debut with Atlas when he was 16 and has made 108 appearances across all competitions for the club. In December he helped the Foxes come from behind to beat León in the two-legged final of the Liga MX playoffs. He also has represented the Mexican national team at the youth and senior levels.
Torres occupies the third and final designated player spot on the Fire roster after Gastón Giménez and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Per MLS roster rules, signing Torres as a young — i.e., 23 and younger — designated player enables the Fire to have all three under-22 initiative slots, a mechanism that encourages teams to acquire young talent. Two of those slots are filled by midfielder Federico Navarro and forward Jhon Durán.