"Nottingham Forest spent 15 million to bring in former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. The deal was unexpectedly successful …"
"Tony Twain's first move was a big one! Van Nistelrooy signed a four-year contract with the Forest team. For a team in the Premier League, this is not good news … "
"The Nottingham Forest fans expressed in interviews that they were happy to see the manager bring a world-class striker to the team …"
"Even though our forward line is not weak, who doesn't want to see it become stronger? We welcome van Nistelrooy's arrival with open arms. "
"According to the marketing department's investigation, van Nistelrooy's arrival greatly stimulated the club's jersey sales. Seven hundred and twenty jerseys with the Dutchman's name and number were sold in one day! This is a very surprising number … "
"… I think van Nistelrooy's arrival is just the first step in Tony Twain's ambitious plan. Nottingham Forest is not satisfied with last season's' double championship 'result. They hope to achieve a breakthrough this season. Like all the teams that performed well last season, the Forest team has increased their investment in the new season. The club owner certainly hopes to receive returns on the money invested. However, I've seen too many teams quickly lose their way after increasing their investment. I hope Twain's team will not be so mediocre … "
"This is one of the most noteworthy transfers this summer. Van Nistelrooy did not leave England. He chose to stay in the Premier League. We think the match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United will be very interesting … "
"Following Chelsea's purchase of Shevchenko and Newcastle's purchase of Martins, the Forest team has brought in van Nistelrooy from Manchester United. This season's Premier League will be very interesting …"
…
The news of van Nistelrooy's transfer to Nottingham Forest was a bombshell in this summer's transfer market.
It could cause such a reaction because Nottingham Forest's results last season made people's imaginations roam. Such a big move must be due to a big dream. Nottingham Forest was expanding its strength. How could it not cause panic and suspicion among its competitors?
World Soccer magazine had just said that Forest was a strong team in its special plan for the new season. Tang En had used his actions to prove that the authoritative magazine was not lying.
In the past two seasons, the players that the Forest team had bought might have had very good strength, but in terms of their respective reputations, they were always a little worse. Anelka was the most famous player, but he was not considered the top player in the world of football. Van Nistelrooy was different. Before he was 30, he had won countless individual and collective honors, including the Eredivisie's best striker, the English Premier League's best striker, the UEFA Champions League's best striker, the English Premier League's best player, and the Netherlands' Player of the Year. These individual honors were like a beautiful halo surrounding the Dutchman, colorful and dazzling. Anelka couldn't compare to these honors.
At most, Anelka's evaluation was "how talented he was." Van Nistelrooy might not be considered a talented player, but he had these honors firmly in his hands.
Because Brazil's famous striker, Romario, had a nickname: "King of the Penalty Area," van Nistelrooy, who was also good at scoring goals, had a very similar nickname: "King of the Penalty Area." This nickname vividly described van Nistelrooy's characteristics. He was a pure striker who was more threatening the closer he was to the goal.
But in comparison, Tang En preferred to call him a natural goal scoring machine.
He liked killers who were as cold and merciless as machines.
※ ※ ※
Tang En was very happy to see van Nistelrooy's transfer cause such a big reaction in the media. Not only was the Nottingham media reporting on this matter, but the sports media in England, Europe, and the world all more or less reported on this transfer.
His first goal had been achieved. Why did he insist on spending 15 million pounds to bring in van Nistelrooy instead of looking for a younger player with more potential but less famous and less expensive? If it was the latter, then it would not have achieved the current effect. The reaction of the media was what Tang En was most concerned about.
He needed someone to put pressure on Anelka. If it was not someone of sufficient weight, then there was no way to threaten Anelka.
Now it was different.
He had repeatedly mentioned van Nistelrooy as his favorite and most admired striker on various occasions. Coupled with van Nistelrooy's reputation, it was enough to make Anelka feel uneasy.
The team had been training again for three days. When they returned to the team, Anelka was not late or anything, and he was punctual for training every day. But Tang En did not take the initiative to look for him, and he had no intention of looking for Tang En to talk. Every day, other than training silently and then returning to his residence, there was nothing else.
Anelka was a somewhat taciturn person in the team, so his performance was normal in everyone's eyes. Tang En, however, saw it all.
On the second day of the press conference, van Nistelrooy appeared at Nottingham Forest's training ground, Wilford.
Tang En had personally brought van Nistelrooy over, which showed how much importance he placed on the newly joined player.
"Let me introduce a new friend to everyone." Tang En pointed to van Nistelrooy standing beside him. "Actually, there's no need to introduce him. Everyone is familiar with him. He's been our opponent for two seasons."
Having said that, Tang En coughed twice. "I say, everyone, if there's a grudge, then take revenge!"
Van Nistelrooy looked surprised, but there was a burst of laughter from the team.
The assistant manager, David Kerslake, patted van Nistelrooy on the shoulder. "Don't mind him. He's just not a serious person."
Understanding that it was just a joke, van Nistelrooy also laughed. Using this method to introduce himself to his new teammates, there was indeed no sense of awkwardness. After all, they had been opponents for two seasons. Everyone would more or less be unable to extricate themselves from their old roles when they met. Tang En directly used a joking method to expose this relationship, which instead made everyone feel less burdened.
"Hello, everyone. I'll be playing football with everyone for the next four years." Van Nistelrooy generously greeted them and received a warm response from his teammates.
It was the same as what he had heard, yet it was different from some of the rumors he had heard.
If a person only relied on the media to understand Nottingham Forest, then he would certainly be very confused. What kind of team was this?
Some media outlets promoted Forest as a team that was united both internally and externally, while others described Forest as a pile of loose sand with constant contradictions.
Some media outlets said that the team's head coach, Tony Twain, was an extremely charismatic and talented young manager with leadership skills. Others thought that Tony Twain was an arrogant, condescending, self-abased, difficult to get along with, bad-tempered, often beating and scolding players, obstructing the freedom of the press, and so on and so forth. He was a scoundrel and bad guy with all these bad records.
These completely opposite and extreme evaluations did not allow van Nistelrooy to come to a conclusion about what kind of person Tang En was and what kind of team Nottingham Forest was. Because the evaluation of the same person and the same team was too different.
When he played at Manchester United, Nottingham Forest was his opponent, and his opponent was always described as a repulsive demon. He was more inclined to the bad evaluations. But now that he had seen it with his own eyes, Tony Twain was not a manager with a strange temper who was difficult to get along with. Nottingham Forest was also not a team where everyone schemed against each other and formed cliques.
After seeing it with his own eyes, he did not believe the media's evaluation.
He felt that the atmosphere in this team was good, and he was happy to work here for another four years.
Everyone was faced with various choices at any time. Van Nistelrooy thought that perhaps four years later, he would not regret today's choice.
Behind him, Twain patted van Nistelrooy to wake him up. "Go on, get ready for training."
Van Nistelrooy walked over to the team, and the person to greet him was the team captain, Albertini.
"What I want to say is what they want to say. Welcome, opponent … and now teammate, Ruud. "
Amidst the warm welcoming atmosphere, Twain did not keep his gaze on van Nistelrooy. He was staring at Anelka.
Anelka did not know that Twain was looking at him. All his attention was on his new teammate.
He was not a fool. Of course, he knew the team's intentions in buying a world-class striker at this time.
During the time that his brother, his agent, and Benítez were meeting, his cell phone had not been switched on. He had done it on purpose. Because he knew that Twain would definitely call him, he had switched it off. After that, he thought that after the team's training began, Twain would look for him to discuss the matter. He did not think that Twain would completely ignore him and directly buy a strong competitor, van Nistelrooy, from the transfer market.
From the looks of it, van Nistelrooy was more popular with his teammates than when he had first entered the team.
He moved his gaze away from van Nistelrooy and turned to the manager, Tony Twain. He saw Twain laughing and saying something to the two assistant managers. Was he happy for the new player?
※ ※ ※
"Tony, Anelka is looking at you," Dunn, who was in the middle of a conversation, suddenly said.
Twain nodded but did not turn his gaze to Anelka. "I know."
"That's right. I've been meaning to ask you, Tony." Kerslake glanced at the French striker, but he only quickly swept his gaze across the French striker's face and did not stop. "You've bought van Nistelrooy. How do you plan to deal with Anelka?"
"Deal with him coldly for a period of time. Have any clubs approached us to make an offer for Anelka? "
Kerslake shook his head. "No. Liverpool really doesn't seem interested in Anelka. I really don't know how his two brothers negotiated with them. "
Twain chuckled. "Anelka and his two agent brothers are well-known. It's not easy to find a buyer who is not worse than us."
If the Forest team had not achieved the results of the previous season, it would have been easy for Anelka to find a new club. However, the Premier League runners-up and the Champions League runners-up had set a high benchmark in Anelka's heart. If he were to transfer again, he would certainly not accept the offers from clubs whose results were not as good as the Forest team. But how many of the powerhouse clubs that could be compared to the Forest team in terms of team strength would want to find such an unpredictable time bomb?
Back then, Anelka had briefly played for Liverpool for half a season. He was on loan, and his performance at Liverpool was remarkable. Just when everyone thought that Houllier would choose to sign a transfer contract with Anelka at the end of the season, he abandoned the unruly striker and found another fellow Frenchman, Cisse.
Why? The inside story behind this was unknown, but Twain believed that it must have something to do with Anelka's difficult character and his two greedy brothers.
Anelka's success at the Forest team suddenly made him more attractive in the eyes of other teams, but it was a double-edged sword. At the same time, it greatly increased his demands for personal treatment. In the past, he could still accept the reality of playing in Manchester City. Now, he was afraid that other teams, except for the top five in the English Premier League, could not enter his eyes.
As for the foreign leagues, the teams in the Spanish League had no interest in the striker, and neither did the Bundesliga. Perhaps only the French League was still full of expectations for the world-class striker who had come from France. Of course, the Turkish League's Fenerbahçe Football Club was now full of regret, but if they wanted to bring Anelka to Turkey again, it would be an impossible task.
In Serie A, after Juventus was relegated, Inter Milan became the biggest beneficiary. Not only did they get the long-awaited league championship trophy, but they also received a number of Juventus players, including the talented young striker, Ibrahimović. Coupled with the Argentine striker, Crespo, on loan from Chelsea, as well as their original strikers, Cruz, Adriano, and others, Inter Milan did not lack strikers. They even sold Martins to Newcastle to "slim down" their bloated forward line.
Roma was powerless and had no money to buy.
On the other hand, AC Milan was still the same as Tang En remembered. Shevchenko had already switched to Chelsea. In this way, AC Milan had to look for a new striker. In fact, they had already begun to search all over the world. When the time came, would they look for Oliveira, who was not suited to Serie A at all, or Anelka? That was unknown.
It was just that … Tang En had recently heard some "gossip." Someone told him that Anelka's two elder brothers had appeared in Milan, Italy. As for whether they were going there for shopping or to meet someone, Twain did not know.
"Alright, lads!" Kerslake blew the whistle in his mouth and walked onto the field. At the same time, he shouted, "Chat time is over. Start training!"
Under the guidance of the two assistant managers and the coaching staff, the players returned to the training ground to start a new day of training.
Tang En stood alone at the side of the field. He put on his sunglasses to block out the glaring sunlight. No one knew who the pair of eyes hidden behind the sunglasses were currently staring at... (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. COM, there are more chapters. Support the author, support the original reading!)
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