Anelka's matter was handed over to Allan Adams to handle. Tang En no longer asked about it. Whether it was okay or not, Allan just had to give him a word.
He put all his energy into the team's training and the continued recruitment of new players.
The team could not find a better candidate for the defensive midfielder's substitute, so he decided not to let Gunnarsson leave the team. Gunnarsson's ability was far from George Wood's. Even if he played as a substitute, the role he could play would be very limited when needed. Tang En's plan did not even consider Gunnarsson playing. He felt that unless Wood was impulsive, Gunnarsson would not have many opportunities to play this season. Keeping Gunnarsson in the team was only to deal with unexpected situations.
Although Pepe was brought in for four million pounds, Tang En's transformation of the defensive line was not over. For a team that was going to compete in the Champions League, Tang En was well aware of the importance of defense. It could be said that in the last decade, almost all the teams that could win the Champions League did not rely on offense, but on defense. Only a team with good defense could go further in this kind of cup competition.
Tang En believed that the current Forest team was still lacking an all-rounder who could play in multiple positions. He was also commonly known as a "jack of all trades." Such a person did not need to have outstanding ability, but he needed to be able to quickly adapt to every position and perform at a normal level.
But such a person was not easy to find.
Tang En scratched his head. He could not think of anyone suitable to play as a substitute for the Forest team.
Initially, he locked his eyes on the young players. Due to his habit of playing FM, Tang En always liked to use young players. He had a slight pedophilia in coaching. He hoped that the players he bought were young and talented, and could play for the Forest team for a long time. But would it not be a waste to use such a person as a substitute? Moreover, if it was a talented teenager, which club would easily let him go to a competitor?
Tang En took a fancy to Manchester City's young defender, Micah Richards. The 17-year-old was still in Manchester City's youth team, but he had already attracted a lot of people's attention. The Forest team proposed to Manchester City that they wanted to buy Richards, but they were flatly rejected by Manchester City. No matter how good Stuart Pearce's relationship with Tang En was, it was something that could not be discussed. Richards was Manchester City's future star. If Tang En had his eyes on him, so did Pearce.
On the phone, Pierce told Twain very frankly that he would not sell Richards to any team. Because this black kid was the future of Manchester City. He was now the captain of the youth team and might become the captain of Manchester City's first team in the future.
Hearing Pierce's words, Twain knew that his idea of completely owning Richards had come to an end. If they wanted to buy him, they might have to wait a few years. But at that time, it was uncertain whether Richards would still be able to perform at the level of his talent and whether the Forest team would still want to buy him.
"… If that's the case, Pierce. I want to buy another player from Manchester City — Sun Jihai. "
Pierce frowned when he heard this name. "That Chinese man? But he's our main force now … "
"Pierce, it's either Richard or Sun Jihai. You have to let me get one, right? Or you can loan Richards to me … "
Pierce muttered to himself for a moment before saying, "I need time to think, Tony. You wait for my call. "
※ ※ ※
Sun Jihai was a name that Twain casually mentioned. He certainly knew that Sun Jihai was now the main force of the Manchester City team. Other than being plagued by injuries last season and only playing nine games, he had always been the first choice for the right-back position in Manchester City from the English Championship to the Premier League. But he had only recently recovered from his injury, which made people question his level.
Twain's main purpose was still the latter sentence of "or you can loan Richards to me." He felt that Pierce would not agree to sell Sun Jihai to him. After all, the Manchester City team needed Sun Jihai now. But Richards was still in the youth team. It was a good idea to loan him to the Forest team.
Twain's mind was still full of Richards. He did not expect the news of him wanting to buy Sun Jihai to be known by the all-pervasive media. The strongest reaction was, of course, from the Chinese media.
A team that had qualified for the UEFA Champions League wanted to add to their right-back position and wanted to bring in the Chinese player, Sun Jihai. This was something to be proud of for the Chinese people. If the deal was successful, Sun Jihai would be the first Chinese player to appear in the Champions League.
Therefore, this matter, which had yet to take shape, had been hyped up by the Chinese media in a short period of time, making the Chinese people believe that Sun Jihai joining Nottingham Forest was already a done deal.
Twain also once again saw the enthusiasm from China.
"In just one afternoon, there were 17 calls requesting interviews. Some wanted to interview me directly, and some wanted to get confirmation from the club. They almost hyped it up to 'Sun Jihai has joined Nottingham Forest.' They only remembered to confirm it now!" Twain patted the stack of papers in his hand and said to Dunn, who was sitting in front of him, "Your Chinese compatriots are so enthusiastic."
Dunn smiled. "Isn't it also yours?"
"Uh, sorry, I got too into character." Twain scratched his head.
Dunn turned around and pulled out a videotape from the VCR. The label on the side read "Sun Jihai." He then handed it to Twain. "He really fits your requirements. He can play in almost any position on the rear defensive line. He can also play as a defensive midfielder and a side midfielder. If you want, he can also play as a forward."
Twain took the videotape and shook his head. "Of course I know all this. I saw him play football earlier than you. But I don't think Pearce will let us have Sun Jihai. They don't have many players to choose from in the right-back position. "
Dunn glanced at Twain. Twain raised his hands in surrender. "Well, I'll be honest. I don't want Sun Jihai. My mind is full of Richard. I just want Pearce to understand that they still can't do without Sun Jihai, but he can loan Richard to us."
"Then why are you frowning now?"
Twain pursed his lips. "I'm worried about how to deal with the passionate Chinese media. Tell them the truth. Am I joking? "
"Just brush them off." Dunn, who was busy choosing videotapes, lowered his head and said. Twain looked at him.
※ ※ ※
The next day, Twain found Miss Barbara Lucy, who was in charge of receiving the media. "There are so many media outlets. We can't possibly hold a press conference for a transfer that's still on our minds. Choose a media outlet to come to Wilford. I'll talk to them alone. Reject the rest."
"Yes, Mr. Twain."
Miss Barbara Lucy's style of handling matters was not feminine at all. She was very capable and decisive. After agreeing to Twain's matter in the morning, the two Chinese reporters arrived at the Wilford training base in the afternoon. After showing their identification to Old Ian in the guardroom, Ian called Miss Lucy's office to confirm their identities and let them in.
After the two reporters entered the training base, they looked around curiously. They were probably the first two Chinese reporters to enter the Forest team's training base.
Miss Lucy did not let the Chinese guests wait too long. She came out of the building and led them to Twain's office.
Twain was not in the office. Miss Lucy arranged for them to sit there and wait. She brewed two cups of tea for them and left.
The two Chinese reporters, a man and a woman, stood up from the sofa after Miss Lucy closed the door and left. They carefully looked around the office, which was not considered big. An entire wall was filled with books, all kinds of football-related books. The office desk appeared very messy. A computer was in hibernation mode, and the case hummed softly.
A glass cabinet stood in front of the wall beside the sofa. Inside it were the team's manager's personal honors — three English League One (now English Football League Championship) Manager of the Month, two English Premier League Manager of the Month, and one English Premier League Manager of the Year last season.
The male reporter looked at the last trophy and laughed. "Last season's English Premier League Manager of the Year was Mourinho. It's said that many people in the English football circle felt that Twain only lost because he was not famous enough. He lost because Nottingham Forest was not as influential as Chelsea."
The female reporter on the other side continued his words. "If Forest had Chelsea's influence but only managed to get fourth place in the league, I'm afraid Twain would have been fired by the board."
The man turned to look at her and laughed dryly. "I say, Tang Jing, you're a football reporter now. You're not one of Mourinho's groupies anymore. You should pay attention to your status."
The female reporter called "Tang Jing" ignored her colleague. Instead, she walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the training ground not far away. From here, she could clearly see the team's training situation and hear the whistle from time to time.
Forest's players were training under the guidance of the coaching staff. Twain had his back to the window. As usual, he did not go on the field to personally demonstrate. Instead, he stood at the side to supervise.
The male reporter walked to Tang Jing's side and quickly scanned the crowd. He then pointed to a tall, bald player and said, "That's Pepe. He used up Forest's only special talent quota for this season for four million pounds. I wonder how he'll perform in the new season."
The woman's attention was not on the team. She kept looking at Tony Twain, who had his back to her.
Miss Barbara Lucy, who had led them in earlier, appeared at the side of the training ground. She walked to Twain's side and said something. She was probably telling him that someone from the media had come. Twain only nodded and did not turn back to look at his office behind him.
Miss Lucy conveyed the news and left. Twain continued to supervise the training at the side of the field. He had no intention of turning around to return to his office.
"That's George Wood. His unsmiling manner is very much in line with the media's evaluation of him. It's not easy to watch Forest's First Team train at such a close distance … "The man was more interested in Forest's players.
Tang Jing interrupted, "Uncle Wang, you're an old football reporter. You're not a little football fan. You should pay attention to your status."
The middle-aged man who was addressed as "Uncle Wang" laughed embarrassedly. "You've learned it, little girl! I say, if you don't like this manager, why did you come with me to join in the fun? "
"For work."
"I can do the work alone …"
"Uncle Wang!"
"Ahem. To be honest … "Uncle Wang changed the topic." This Manager Twain is quite interesting. He likes Chinese culture and is rumored to speak fluent Mandarin. I think it would be quite interesting if his team had a relationship with Sun Jihai. If Sun Jihai could really come to Forest, perhaps it would be a good opportunity for him. Think about it, how much help would a manager who can communicate directly with Sun Jihai in Mandarin be to Jihai? "
"Sun Jihai is also a main player in Manchester City. Why would Forest buy Sun Jihai? I think it's to be a substitute for the French defender. I don't think it would be helpful for Sun Jihai's career to go from a main player to a substitute. "
"But Nottingham Forest has qualified for this season's Champions League."
"It's only the qualification for the Champions League. Whether they can play in the official competition will have to wait until they beat Villarreal. Who was the only opponent they lost to in the UEFA Europa League group stage last year? Villarreal. "Tang Jing was not optimistic about the Forest team's future in the Champions League.
Uncle Wang did not refute Tang Jing's words. He was a full round older than the girl who had just been sent by the club to England. It was not worthwhile to argue with a girl. Of course, the most important reason was that Tang Jing was the president's daughter. There were many times when he had to give in to her on the surface. Although Tang Jing was indeed capable and had a background in news reporting, influenced by her father since she was young, she was also very interested in football. She entered the newspaper office through the back door, but she did not come to London to be a gold-plated vase. But who knew what she would say to her father when she got home? How would her doting father understand what she said? So it was always good to be cautious.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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