The Chicago Fire plan to sign Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer this summer, Fabrizio Romano reported on Wednesday.

Since De Bruyne announced in early April that he would leave Manchester City this summer, many clubs have expressed strong interest in him. The addition of Chicago Fire has made the already fierce competition for De Bruyne even more intense.

Chicago Fire is currently playing in the MLS and is currently ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses and 12 points. The team has attracted many big-name stars in history, including Ballon d'Or winner Hristo Stoichkov, Mexican legendary attacker Cuauhtémoc Blanco, 2014 World Cup champion Bastian Schweinsteiger and former Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri. They also tried to bring in Brazilian star Neymar, but the latter eventually chose to return to his parent club Santos.

In addition to Chicago Fire, Miami International, New York FC and DC United also have strong interest in De Bruyne. Romano further pointed out that De Bruyne will evaluate all options in the next few days or weeks.

De Bruyne, 33, played for Genk, Chelsea, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg before moving to Manchester City for 76 million euros in July 2015. He has gradually grown into one of the world's top midfielders in Manchester City, making 415 appearances so far, scoring 107 goals and providing 177 assists, winning one Champions League, one Club World Cup, six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five English League Cups and three Community Shields with the team.