Christoph Metzelde.
Li Ang decided on his first target. This German center back was currently 24 years old. When he was 21 years old, he participated in the World Cup in Japan and South Korea as a main player. Metzelde was considered the biggest discovery of the German national team in the 2002 World Cup. It was reasonable to say that Sporting de Gijón could not touch such a star player who was at the peak of his career. However, due to his ankle injury in the 03-04 season, Metzelde's condition was mediocre. It was difficult for him to achieve anything in the entire season and he was once a peripheral figure in the national team. After the start of this season, Metzelde's performance was also mediocre. Previously, it was rumored that Metzelde was very fond of big clubs such as Real Madrid and Arsenal, but they did not mention bringing him in. Even in Borussia Dortmund, Metzelde's position as the main player seemed to be unstable. Many teams began to worry about Metzelde's injury. They were worried that Metzelde's injury would cause him to become a second-rate star player from a star player with unlimited potential.
However, Li Ang knew Metzelde's future. Although he did not reach the level of a top team in the end, he still had a good future ahead of him.
Li Ang keenly grasped that this was an opportunity to take advantage of the situation to get Metzelde. Metzelde was an excellent candidate in terms of both ability and experience. With this German center back, even if Hierro chose to retire at the end of the season, Sporting de Gijón would have a new center back to replace him.
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Li Ang's second target was Thomas Vermaelen.
The captain of Arsenal was only 18 years old. Although he played for Ajax, the powerhouse of the Eredivisie, he wasn't valued too much at the moment. He was currently on loan to the Eredivisie team, Waalwijk. If Ajax really didn't value Vermaelen that much, it would be a great opportunity to poach this young goblin.
Li Ang wrote down Metzelde and Vermaelen's names in his notebook. Then, he thought about it and added two more targets.
The third target was Vincent Kompany, the Belgian center back who later became the captain of Manchester City. There was no doubt about his potential. If he could be poached, Sporting de Gijón's center back for the next ten years would be assured. However, although he was only 18 years old, Kompany was the absolute main player of the Belgian national team. As the main player of Anderlecht, a powerhouse in Belgium's First Division, Kompany was playing in the Champions League with Anderlecht. It was hard to say whether he would be interested in Sporting de Gijón. Moreover, Kompany was famous outside. Many big clubs were eyeing this young center back. It would be difficult for Sporting de Gijón to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.
Li Ang thought about the fourth target for a long time. In the end, he wrote down Raúl Albiol's name. This was a Spanish player who later played for Real Madrid. He did not have any outstanding strengths, but he was very well-rounded and stable. When he was young and had a strong impact, he was still a very useful player. Now, the 19-year-old Albiol was on loan to Valencia and did not seem to be valued too much. Sporting de Gijón might have a chance to poach him.
Moreover, Albiol was a Spanish player. Bringing in Albiol could strengthen the attributes of Sporting de Gijón's Spanish players. A team's local players had to have a certain composition to be more stable. This was also a factor for a team to pay attention to.
After that, Li Ang called his assistant, Banderas, and told him the names and basic information of these four players. He also analyzed the possible situations of these players with Banderas and used it as a reference for the transfer.
He asked Sporting de Gijón to inquire the clubs of these four players to see if they were interested in selling these players. This was something that could not be helped. Sporting de Gijón was not a local tycoon. They did not have the money, so they could only ask if the clubs had the intention to sell. Otherwise, if the clubs were rich, they could just throw money at them. This was more effective and effective than anything else.
From asking the clubs' attitudes to possible negotiations, it would take a process. It would take at least a few days before there was any feedback.
All Li Ang could do now was wait.
*****
Li Ang's parents were very happy that Li Ang had returned home.
They had not seen their son for more than half a year. Naturally, they missed him very much.
Li Ang also cherished these few days at home. He put down everything, including the winter transfer, and focused on spending time with his parents. At the same time, he was also preparing for his father's 60th birthday on the 31st.
At this time, in the distant Iberian Peninsula, although the transfer window had not yet opened, the news of the Italian veteran Chiesa's medical examination at Sporting de Gijón attracted the media's attention. Later, Sporting de Gijón confirmed their speculation to the media that they had reached an agreement with the Serie A team, Siena, for the transfer of Chiesa. They were just waiting for the transfer window to open, and the transfer would be completed.
Later, the news that Mallorca had used a player and cash to bring in Sporting de Gijón's substitute center back, Isma, also spread. The reporters also saw Juan Arango and Isma, who had undergone medical examinations at Sporting de Gijón and Mallorca respectively. The transfer was also confirmed.
After sending away the team's stable substitute center back, and bringing in an attacking midfielder and an experienced Italian striker, Sporting de Gijón continued to fill the gap in the attacking side. This also made the media realize that they had been waiting to see what moves Real Madrid and Barcelona would make in the winter transfer market. However, so far, the two powerhouses had not made any signings. On the contrary, Sporting de Gijón, currently ranked fourth in the league, had quietly changed their lineup.
Although it was still unknown how effective Sporting de Gijón's signings would be, they had the momentum to enter the market in a high-profile manner.
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For this reason, La Repubblica did a special feature to analyze and predict the movements of the clubs during the winter transfer window. The pictures in the headlines were of the managers of the La Liga giants: Real Madrid's manager, Luxemburgo, Barcelona's manager, Rijkaard, Valencia's manager, Ranieri, and Deportivo de La Coruña's manager, Irueta. The manager who could be mentioned in the same breath as the managers of the four powerhouses was not Atlético Madrid's manager, Ferrando, or Sevilla's manager, Caparos, but the manager of the newly promoted Sporting de Gijón, Li Ang. It was clear that the Spanish media now had a new level of respect for Li Ang.
According to the analysis in the article, as a new team in La Liga and a team participating in the UEFA Europa League, Sporting Gihon was currently the biggest dark horse in La Liga. Sporting Gihon's start in the first half of the league season could be said to be a dream. However, the incident with the suspension of the players last time also exposed the shortcoming of Sporting Gihon's lack of depth on the bench. Sporting Gihon's poor financial situation could not support them to spend money happily in the transfer market. Therefore, under such circumstances, it was up to Sporting Gihon's head coach, Li Ang, to continue to perform magic in the transfer market and show people his ability to do big things with little money.
PS: Thank you for your support. In a few days, my mother will come over to help take care of the children. I will make some adjustments here, and the updates will be normal. Thank you for recommending a center back in the book review section, especially Amber's recommendation.
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