The Chicago Fire made headlines globally yesterday when it was reported that they were one of the clubs vying for Kevin De Bruyne’s services after the Belgian midfielder leaves Premier League side Manchester City this summer. The Fire still have an open Designated Player slot that De Bruyne could slide into should they secure his signature, which would likely require the Fire to pay the 33-year-old eight figures annually. The Fire were contenders to sign Neymar ahead of the 2025 season and have now been linked to De Bruyne. While he wouldn’t comment on De Bruyne specifically, Fire director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter didn’t downplay the club’s aspiration to bring in top talent. “What I would say is we're ambitious and we want to build a team and a squad that can compete at the very top with Major League Soccer,” Berhalter said during his weekly media availability. “When there are opportunities out in the market that represent our ambition, we'll look at them closely.” Chicago will continue to look to add pieces to their roster regardless of whether they actually acquire De Bruyne, but it would most likely be an attacking player who fills that third Designated Player slot. “In a perfect world, you'd be able to invest across an entire roster and say, okay, we can bring in world-class players in every position. It's not perfect. There's a salary cap. There's a limited amount of designated spot players. So I think it makes the most sense to bring in an attacking player. Somebody that can change the game consistently from an attacking end. Can work with the offensive weapons we already have to bring out more in them and help them continue, and overall help the team both on and off the field.” From the rest of my notebook: Carlos Terán Carlos Terán’s 2025 season is trending in the right direction after a slow start. Chicago’s 24-year-old center back played the entire season opener and conceded an own goal in that contest before suffering an injury in warmups right before their home opener against D.C. United, which kept him out of the lineup for a few weeks. Terán made his return off the bench to help the Fire see out their win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on March 22 and has now started and played the entirety of Chicago’s previous two matches. Terán has largely been lined up at center back alongside Jack Elliott, and he told reporters that the center position group is developing a great rapport at this early point of the season. “Jack is amazing,” Terán said. “He's a very good, very good person. He doesn't speak a lot because he’s a little bit of a calm man. But his attitude, you feel he wants to help you. He is not like the person, they say, ‘Oh, do this, do that.’ He does the work then he says, ‘do that like I do.’ So he's a good person, good player, very good player, good captain. Yeah, not only me, everybody loves him. Sam Rogers is the same. He's a very smart guy. He's a very good person. The same with Omar [González], with his experience, we tell him, ‘you’re old,’ but he is very funny every time. We have very good people in this team. We have very good people. Everybody understands what you want from them. So not only Jack, we have good people in the defense. We are more friends than teammates.” Berhalter acknowledged that Terán has “the talent to be one of the top center backs in Major League Soccer” moments after the defender took the stage. Chicago will need him to be available to showcase those talents if they want to hit their ceiling in 2025. Right back availability Gregg Berhalter told reporters that Jonathan Dean is expected to be back in the Fire’s lineup after missing the last four matches due to a punctured lung he suffered before halftime in the Fire’s win in Toronto on March 15. Presumed starter Leonardo Barroso will miss his third consecutive match due to injury, while Omari Glasgow and Justin Reynolds remain options at the right back spot. 2025 US Open Cup The Fire are back in the US Open Cup field in 2025 after they were represented in the 2024 edition of the tournament by MLS Next Pro Side Chicago Fire II. Chicago drew USL Championship side Detroit City FC in the Round of 32, and they will host their opponents from Michigan on May 7 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT. The winner will travel to face the winner of New England Revolution vs Rhode Island FC in the Round of 16. What’s On Tap Next? The Fire will host FC Cincinnati at Soldier Field on April 19. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.