BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – David Accam’s future might not be completely settled, but the Chicago Fire winger continues to give his all for the Men in Red as they extended their unbeaten home record to 11 on Saturday with a record ninth victory in a row at Toyota Park.
The Ghanaian livewire helped the Fire to a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution, moving the Men in Red to within three points of Supporters’ Shield leaders Toronto FC in the standings. Accam has contributed an impressive 12 goals and seven assists in 20 games this term, which has drawn the keen attention of teams in Europe.
The 26-year-old has been the subject of considerable transfer speculation, with the most recent rumor linking him to a $4 million move to German Bundesliga side Hannover 96. On Saturday he revealed that the Fire has picked up his option for 2018, which puts them in a much stronger position when negotiating with interested parties.
But when pressed about the speculation and his intentions, Accam said all the right things and gave no firm indication that his future lays beyond Toyota Park.
“I have confirmed that the Fire are taking my option for next year,” Accam said. “So for me that’s a good move, it shows their commitment to me and that they really want me to be here. For me, I’m happy they have taken my option for next year, so I’m just concentrating on the team and helping the team win MLS Cup.”
Accam has been regularly linked with a move back to Europe since signing for the Fire from Swedish side Helsingborgs IF ahead of the 2015 season, and with this year being his best yet in MLS, that interest has intensified.
“I’ll be honest, there’s a lot of offers from teams,” he said. “For me it shows that I’m doing really well, I’m playing well. I’m playing on a good team and that’s just a testament of what we’re doing here. My performance is showing and we’re winning games, so for me my head is still here and the rumors will always be there.”
Before Saturday, Accam began the previous two games on the bench, as rumors of a rift between him and coach Veljko Paunovic surfaced amid the Serbian’s decision not to select him for the recent MLS All-Star Game against Real Madrid.
“For me, I just want to play every game and today it was about helping the team come back to where we know we can be, winning games,” Accam added. “I felt good on the pitch and I was happy we won today.”
Said Paunovic: “We believe that the guys who are ready to perform … give us what we need in order to win the games. We choose these guys to play. It’s always about the team. It’s always about trying to do our best to win.”
