Chicago Fire FC is leading the race to sign Kevin De Bruyne, a Belgian playmaker, should he decide to join Major League Soccer. The two teams are now in talks over a designated player contract.

De Bruyne, 33, has declared his intention to depart Manchester City when his contract expires at the conclusion of the current campaign. Since joining the team in 2015, he has played a significant role in helping them win four straight Premier League championships.

Since they have already occupied all three of their designated player slots with Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Lionel Messi—all of whom have contracts expiring at the end of the current campaign—Inter Miami CF is unlikely to pursue De Bruyne, even though they currently hold his MLS discovery rights, which grant them the right of first refusal. A possible route for Chicago has been made evident by this development.

According to ESPN, Chicago, which has just two designated players on its squad and ambitious ownership in Joe Mansueto, seems to be the perfect destination should De Bruyne opt to play in Major League Soccer. New York City FC and D.C. United have also allegedly shown interest.

The Chicago Fire are the front-runners to sign De Bruyne, according to the Athletic.

De Bruyne may stay in Europe as well. He left the door open when asked what he will do next after the victory against Crystal Palace on April 12.

“I am open to hearing about any project that is accessible. I adore football. I like playing football, so if a fantastic proposal comes along and my family is on board, we can decide,” De Bruyne said.

Although he did not directly name De Bruyne, Chicago head coach Gregg Berhalter made it clear that the team needed an innovative offensive talent to pair with existing strikers Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers.

“I think that in a perfect world, you’d be able to invest across the entire roster and say, ‘OK, we can bring in world-class players in every position,’ but it’s not perfect,” the former coach of the USMNT said.

“The number of designated players is restricted, and there is a wage limitation. Therefore, I believe that adding an aggressive player makes the most sense.

“Someone that can change the game consistently from an attacking end and can work with the offensive weapons we already have to bring out more in them and help them continue and overall help the team both on and off the pitch.”