Chicago Fire reveal deal for US star Jermaine Jones still in the works

Jermaine Jones’ on again, off again, move to the Chicago Fire has dominated headlines surrounding the Windy City club over the past week and the Fire’s head coach Frank Yallop has reignited talk of the German-American midfielder heading to Toyota Park.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Yallop confirmed that people behind the scenes are still working hard to agree a move for Jones but the U.S. midfielder could land elsewhere in the league.

Jones, 32, is available on a free transfer after leaving Schalke 04 this summer following a hugely impressive World Cup for the USA down in Brazil. The transfer deadline arrived yesterday in MLS with rumored moves for U.S. internationals Mix Diskerud, Sacha Kljestan and Jones to MLS not happening. However with the roster freeze date in MLS set for September 16 and Jones being a free agent, that means his deal could yet be revived as he isn’t under contract elsewhere.

The Frankfurt-born midfielder would be signed on a Designated Player contract but it is likely he’d arrived in MLS after being signed by the league and would then go through the allocation process per league rules. Right now, Chicago sit fifth in the order with Columbus, FC Dallas, LA Galaxy and Vancouver ahead of them, but Yallop is confident a deal could get done.

“We can still add players. It’s not roster freeze date. We have free transfers that now we can start to talk to,” Yallop said. “Having said that we want to keep a very close eye on the Jones deal. We’d like to see if we can bring him to Chicago but I’ve had good talks with him and the agent and it was very positive but there are other people in front of us to have a chance of getting him.”

The big question now is would LA, Vancouver, Dallas or Columbus make a move for Jones or are Chicago home and dry to sign the player they’ve reportedly chased since the World Cup finished?

Jones has sent out various tweets updating fans on his situation and it seems as though the contract offer could be the main sticking point. He would come in on a DP contract but how much could he demand in guaranteed salary after an impressive World Cup? He has retweeted fans stating he should get $4 million and $6-8 million. Is Jermaine living in a dream world? Eh. Maybe. Frank Lampard is reportedly on $4 million a year at New York City FC, while Michael Bradley is on $6 million per year up in Toronto.

Is Jones on the same level as Lampard and Bradley, thus deserving of a similar contract? Before the World Cup many would’ve laughed in your face at that questions. Now, it’s a real possibility.

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