Jon Bakero joins the Chicago Fire after a four-year career at Wake Forest University. Bakero was an ACC First Team selection in 2017 and was named 2017 ACC Offensive Player of the Year after posting 16 goals and 14 assists in 21 appearances. Bakero was also named Mac Herman Trophy award winner and Senior Class Award winner in 2017.
“We feel Jon Bakero will fit in really well with our style and what we’re looking to do, and also give us some versatility,” Fire GM Nelson Rodríguez said to Chicago-Fire.com, “as we feel he can play underneath Nemanja (Nikolic) or alongside Nemanja. He’s mobile so he can slide outside and then come inside.”
Chicago Fire traded up for Bakero and sent $175,000 in allocation funds and goalkeeper Matt Lampson to Minnesota United FC.