Uganda Cranes midfielder Micheal Azira has left Canada-based Montreal Impact to join Chicago Fire in a swap deal.
Impact traded Azira in exchange for defender Jorge Corrales from Chicago – a former Cuban international.
This is the fourth Major League Soccer club, Azira is joining after playing for the Seattle Sounders (2014-15), Colorado Rapids (2016-18) and Montreal Impact (2018-19).
Azira has had a stellar season with Impact featuring in their first 15 games this season, with 13 starters before he left for international duty at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
21-year-old Shamit Shome is expected to replace Azira in the Impact squad with him departing for new grounds south.
Azira leaves a legacy of being “a tough-tackling defensive midfielder” according to the official MLS Soccer website, gathering 120 regular-season appearances in his MLS career, with one goal and four assists.
Midfielder Micheal Azira is thought to be a midfield replacement to the former Manchester United and Bayern Munich star, Bastien Schweinsteiger who shifted from midfield to central defense.
