The Chicago Fire addressed one of their offseason needs by signing a goal-scoring forward on Monday.

Now their full attention will turn towards their next objective: landing a central midfielder.

The Fire crossed off an item on their to-do list ahead of the 2017 campaign with the capture of Nemanja Nikolic as a Designated Player on Monday, and are now putting much of their focus on signing a veteran who can patrol the middle of the park. The club has identified its central midfield as an area that needs to be improved upon going into next season, and is currently working to finalize a deal for a player that can bolster that part of the roster.

“We have three primary targets,” said Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez on a conference call on Tuesday. “We believe we are making progress against at least two of those and we are working aggressively to close whichever one we can first. These things, acquisitions in the offseason, can change for better or for worse very, very quickly. We’re satisfied with where we are in our attempts and our discussions and our negotiations, but we will not stop until we have success.”

One seasoned central midfielder that has been heavily linked with the Fire for months is Bastian Schweinsteiger. Reports have stated that the Fire have offered Schweinsteiger a $16.5 million deal over three years, and the former German international was spotted last month leaving a restaurant in England where Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic was also dining.

Schweinsteiger, 32, is currently out of favor at Manchester United and there have been rumors about the English side buying out his contract this winter. While all that points to a potential move to Chicago, the Fire are remaining tightlipped with regards to their alleged pursuit of him.

“We do not comment on players who are under contract at other clubs, and so I will not speak specifically about our interest or non-interest in any play who is under contract to another club,” said Rodriguez. “I will more generally say that we would like to add a more veteran presence in the midfield, preferably someone with championship pedigree who has won, someone who is comfortable with the ball under pressure and can either play us out of the back or break the lines, to advance the ball into more forward positions.

“We’ll continue to monitor those players that have those attributes and we’re going to aggressively pursue securing at least one player we feel shares those qualities.”

The Fire are also weighing what to do with the first pick in Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft on Tuesday. They could use it to pick up a player like Blas Perez or Steve Clark that can provide depth or even start, but could also trade it away in order to stockpile some more assets.

Needing to improve a team that finished with the worst record in MLS in 2016, the Fire are considering all their options.

“We have been exploring some possibilities in that draft,” said Rodriguez. “We have been speaking with the representation of some players and some players directly. We have not yet made a final decision as to whether we will want to select a player or not and we are also examining some offers that we’ve received for the No. 1 second-stage re-entry position.

“Obviously we’ve admittedly put that on hold over the last 24 hours (to finalize signing Nikolic). Pauno, the staff and I will continue those conversations this afternoon Chicago time and we’ll look to make a decision.”

Rodriguez also talked on Tuesday of the Fire’s decision to trade their long-time goalkeeper, Sean Johnson. The club sent Johnson to Atlanta United earlier this month, but the expansion outfit shipped the 27-year-old American to New York City FC shortly after acquiring him.

Even though he was surprisingly moved away from the club in his hometown city of Atlanta, Johnson called Rodriguez and the Fire’s brass to thank them for his seven years there. Rodriguez admittedly appreciated the call, and left the door open for Johnson to return to the Fire some day.

“I told Sean on that call and I meant it then and I’ll repeat it here: He will always be a part of the Chicago Fire family,” said Rodriguez. “He will always be positively remembered as a hero to the club and the fans, and when his playing career is over we hope and expect that he will want to remain an active part of our club in some way.”