Tim Ream is officially a member of Bolton after his transfer from the New York Red Bulls was finalized on Thursday.

The transfer, believed to be valued near $3 million, is the highest ever paid for an MLS defender, surpassing the $2 million paid by French club Boulogne for former Chicago Fire defender Bakary Soumare.

January 18, 2012 will mark Frank Klopas' 4th full year as technical director for the Chicago Fire. The club has enjoyed a roller coaster ride, from the highs of cup finals to the lows of missing the Playoffs. In this time, Klopas has been responsible for signing players both foreign and domestic. With the transfer window opening in the past couple of days, I believe an examination of the Fire's international signings under Klopas is important, especially considering that the search for international talent for the 2012 season is well under way.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Chicago Fire reserves entered Tuesday's match against Sporting Kansas City having scored five goals in two games, but that offensive output was not replicated as the teams tied, 1-1.

With former Fire defender Bakary Soumare in attendance, Chicago jumped out to an early lead courtesy of a goal from Cristian Nazarit.

The Fire announced their pre-season schedule today. Players are due to report to Toyota Park on Thursday before starting training next week at the Bridgeview Sports Dome. Among the players reporting will be new additions Cory Gibbs, Daniel Paladini, Josip Mikulic, Jalil Anibaba, Jason Herrick, Jon Conway, Davis Paul, Yannick Salmon, Amani Walker, Sam Arthur, and Open Try-Out winner Pari Pantazopoulos.