The Chicago Fire Trade For Striker Tom Barlow

The Chicago Fire have acquired striker Tom Barlow from the New York Red Bulls for $250,000 in GAM and the potential for an additional $150,000 in GAM if certain incentives are met. The 28 year old attacker has spent his entire career within the Red Bulls system playing for both the Red Bulls and Red Bulls II. Barlow has scored 39 goals in his overall Red Bulls career; 18 for the Red Bulls and 21 for the Red Bulls II. Though his 18 first team goals in 140 appearances isn’t the most impressive statistic, some of Barlow’s goals have been the most clutch for the modern day New York Red Bulls. Tom Barlow has scored 3 goals in his 5 MLS Cup Playoff appearances… scoring when it matters the most. 

Now I am very interested to see how this move works out for the Chicago Fire. The last player who is very similar to the Tom Barlow profile who left the organization within MLS was Brian White. Brian White has been having some major success with the Vancouver Whitecaps, scoring in bunches. I am sure that this is what the Fire are hoping for, a striker who can score in bunches once leaving the Red Bulls system. Barlow joins a large striker room that consists of struggling MLS veteran Kacper Przbylko, U22 Initiative attacker Georgios Koutsias, and HomeGrowns such as Missael Rodriguez and Victor Bezerra. I would argue that Barlow might be the best striker option for the Fire if this striker depth chart remains with this group. Though I have plenty of concerns, I would not be surprised if Barlow absolutely breaks out with a decent 2024 campaign (especially with Brian Gutierrez feeding him all season long).