After Tang En gave Anelka his permission to leave, Anelka's two brothers got busy again. Although the threshold of 25 million pounds sounded a little high, they believed that with their brother's outstanding performance last season, they would be able to find a club willing to fork out the money.
Tang En no longer paid attention to their affairs and focused on the team's summer training and other transfers.
First, he made a phone call to the Manchester City manager, Stuart Pearce, to inquire about the possible transfer of Kasper Schmeichel. The Manchester City Football Club did want to give the young goalkeeper, who was generally favored, a chance to train, but it was not realistic for him to get a main role in Manchester City's First Team or even a first substitute position. Pearce was more inclined to loan Schmeichel Jr. out for training for a season. After all, the famous son of Peter Schmeichel was not yet 20 years old and had a limitless future.
No matter how good their relationship was, Pearce did not want to let Tang En take advantage of it.
Tang En would not do it if he rented a goalkeeper to be a substitute. Forest was no longer a factory that helped others cultivate star players.
He still hoped that Pearce would consider selling Schmeichel Jr. to Forest. Pearce's attitude was firm this time. After selling Sun Jihai to Nottingham Forest, he did not want to lose the team's future main goalkeeper. He agreed to loan Schmeichel Jr. to Forest for a season or two, but Tang En did not agree.
Just like that, the choice of substitute goalkeeper fell into an impasse.
Tang En originally thought highly of Kasper Schmeichel, but he was not the only one who thought highly of the young goalkeeper. He knew that he had met with a soft rebuff this time. Pearce would not relent.
Just as he was feeling vexed over the failure of the deal, Dunn recommended another player to him. He was once familiar with the name, but it had already faded from his memory. If Dunn had not mentioned it again, he would probably have completely forgotten about it.
Igor Akinfeev, the main goalkeeper of the Russian Premier League team CSKA Moscow. He was an important contributor to CSKA's UEFA Europa League victory last season.
Tang En's mind suddenly became clear. He was indeed an outstanding goalkeeper who could carry Forest's future.
The head coach had no objections. Nottingham Forest immediately sent a purchase request for Akinfeev to CSKA Russia.
As a Russian football team, CSKA Moscow was very clear about the fact that the outstanding players that they nurtured were bound to leave for a bigger stage.
In fact, Nottingham Forest was not the first European club to be interested in the young goalkeeper. A number of powerhouses, including Manchester United, Arsenal, and AC Milan, had more or less been rumored to want to buy him. But the first club to make a clear transfer request for the young goalkeeper was Nottingham Forest.
Most of the other teams were still in a wait-and-see state, and Ferguson directly rejected people's expectations that Manchester United would bring in Akinfeev — he said that the Russian goalkeeper was not in his future plans.
Although the goalkeeper known as "AK" was a famous sorcerer in FM07 that Tang En had played before, being a goalkeeper was a position that valued age and experience more. Young goalkeepers often needed to be observed for a longer period of time. No powerhouse club dared to place all their bets on a goalkeeper who had just turned 20. They still hoped to "observe."
Tang En was playing for this time difference. He had always appeared as a "bold gambler" in the eyes of people when he did transfer deals. This time was no exception. While the other clubs were still watching or hesitating, Forest submitted a transfer request to CSKA Moscow. Their offer was five million pounds.
The response came quickly. CSKA Moscow was not surprised by Akinfeev's departure, but they could not accept this price. They raised their offer to 7.5 million pounds, which was about 10 million euros.
Ten million euros to buy a goalkeeper who was only 20 years old!
This was too crazy in the eyes of many people. Even though Buffon had set a world record of 20 million euros for a goalkeeper when he transferred from Parma to Juventus, Buffon had long proven his ability in the domestic league and national team competitions. Unlike Akinfeev, Buffon came from a world strong team like Italy. The strength of the national team and the standard of the national league were not on the same level as Russia.
"If the Russians want to use this offer to scare us off, then they have the wrong idea. We're not the Nottingham Forest team from two years ago. " Tang En's response was to raise the first offer to six million pounds. At the same time, he added a clause to allow Akinfeev to be loaned back to CSKA Moscow for a season at zero rent.
This meant that Nottingham Forest would pay Akinfeev a year's salary and give him to CSKA Moscow for free for a season. CSKA Moscow would also earn a net profit of six million pounds.
This was a good condition. CSKA Moscow did not reject it again. Instead, they agreed to discuss a personal contract with Akinfeev.
A year ago, Forest might not have this ability. But now, Nottingham Forest was very attractive to the Russian goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev. After all, they were the runners-up in the English Premier League and Champions League. Their ability was recognized by the world and there was no doubt about it.
Coupled with the addition of the world-class striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy, it greatly increased the team's appeal.
Akinfeev knew that the Russian Premier League was not the stage he wanted. Europe's top league, the English Premier League, was his future. Although there were many rumors about big teams being interested in him this year, none of them turned out to be true. Now that the opportunity was here, he did not want to miss it.
The negotiations between the two sides went smoothly.
Akinfeev signed a five-year permanent transfer contract with Nottingham Forest, with an annual salary of 1.5 million pounds after tax. He would be loaned back to CSKA Moscow for the first season.
When the two sides announced the news, Tang En was all smiles in front of the reporters. He could already see the team's future becoming clearer day by day.
The media naturally had their own opinions on this transfer deal. Some praised Forest for buying a complete guarantee for their future goal, while others claimed that it was not a wise move to buy a young goalkeeper who did not know if he could adapt to the English Premier League so rashly (the transaction lasted for a short time, and everything was settled in four days). They even suspected that there was some shameful "insider trading" behind the transfer.
Tang En did not care about the media's nonsense. If there was no insider trading, he would be the first to disagree. In order to let the transfer progress more smoothly, Nottingham Forest gave Akinfeev's agent a "red packet." However, Tang En himself did not reap any benefits from it. In terms of financial income, Tang En was a man who was content with what he had. He did not lack this bit of money, nor was he willing to amass money through this method. The lesson of Brian Clough was still fresh in his mind.
※ ※ ※
"Well, we've solved the team's goal for the next ten years. This is good news worth celebrating." After settling the transfer, Tang En faced his men in the office and said, "But … I realize that we've gone around in circles and still haven't solved the original problem — where is our substitute goalkeeper?"
Kerslake and Tang En both looked at the goalkeeping coach, Andy Beasley, hoping he could answer the question.
"Uh, actually … I think Paul is enough as a substitute goalkeeper." This was Beasley's answer, which clearly did not satisfy Tang En. He frowned.
At this moment, someone spoke up for him.
"I think Paul Gerrard is a very qualified substitute goalkeeper," Dunn, the China assistant manager, said in fluent English.
Tang En looked at him. "Reason."
"He has a good mentality and does not require a main position. Besides, I've watched the video of the Champions League final many times. I don't think he was responsible for the two goals we conceded. His performance was already very outstanding for him to suddenly play in such a situation. "Dunn fell silent again after giving his reason.
Tang En pinched his chin and pondered.
He was recalling the final match, seriously recalling every detail. That match had left a deep impression on him. It had only been two months, and he would not forget it.
"If not for Paul's outstanding performance, we would have been equalized by Barcelona in the first half. I know his ability is not enough to be the main goalkeeper. Paul himself is very clear on this point. So, I think he's the most suitable candidate to be our number one substitute goalkeeper. "The goalkeeping coach, Beasley, also chimed in from the side.
Tang En withdrew from his memories and shrugged. "Andy, you're the goalkeeping coach. You're more authoritative in this area than I am. If you think he has the ability to be a qualified substitute, then we don't have to bother finding a substitute goalkeeper anymore. To be honest, this position is as difficult to find as Wood's substitute."
Everyone laughed. What Tang En said was not wrong at all. A goalkeeper's position was a special one. It required stability, so it was not easy to change the candidate, nor was there any rotation. A substitute goalkeeper must have enough patience and a calm state of mind to face an endless life on the bench and be ready to play at any time.
Wood's substitute was another special one. It was not that the defensive midfielder position could not be rotated. It was just that Wood was too stable. He never got injured, and his condition did not fluctuate. There was no problem with his stamina. What reason did the manager have to rotate such a player? As a result, his substitute had even less chance to play. Think about the poor Gunnarsson from last season. Tang En had kept him as a precaution. He did not expect that there would not be such a "what-if" opportunity for the entire season.
Now Gunnarsson had left the team and turned to the English Championship team, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After laughing, Dunn suddenly said, "I think we don't have to deliberately find Wood's substitute. If Wood's substitute is a professional defensive midfielder, it would be a waste. And Sun is an all-rounder in the backfield. "
Tang En nodded to show that he understood what he meant.
Instead of specifically finding a defensive midfielder to be Wood's substitute, it was better to find a backfield utility. Not only could he be Wood's substitute, but he could also be a substitute for other people. A center back, a full back, a defensive midfielder. For example, Pepe and Piqué both had experience as defensive midfielders. Sun Jihai was even more so. In this way, the problem of George Wood's substitute could be considered solved.
It was just a change of perspective. The problem that had troubled the team's coaching staff for more than a year was easily solved. His colleagues in the coaching staff had a deeper understanding of the Chinese man, who had been directly promoted from the youth team assistant manager to the First Team assistant manager. He was indeed capable, and he did not just rely on a good personal relationship with the manager to get to his position.
※ ※ ※
After Bayern Munich failed to purchase van Nistelrooy, they set their sights on Franck Ribéry, who had shone brilliantly in the World Cup. However, Nottingham Forest marked Ribéry as "not for sale." Not only did they reject Bayern Munich's offer, they also rejected all the buyers who were interested in Ribéry.
Forest wanted to create even more outstanding results. Tang En hoped that the team would become an important force in European football that could not be ignored. Now was not the time to sell players.
It was not only Ribéry. Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon, Arteta, George Wood, Piqué, Pepe, Baines, Bale, Chimbonda, etc. The Forest team's main lineup last season was almost completely dug out by those buyers. Tang En rejected all of them.
The most important thing for a team with lofty ideals was a stable lineup. These players had already worked together for one to two seasons. The tacit understanding between them had been completely established. If they were to break up this team now for the sake of some money, then Tang En would really be the biggest fool in the world.
"Nottingham Forest does not rely on selling its star players to earn money to survive. We are not that kind of team. We are not the star player processing base of any powerhouse club. Even if someone really comes up with two trillion pounds, I will not sell a single one of my players. "
This was the promise that Tang En wrote in his personal column.
Then, Lineker commented on Tang En's words in his personal column. "… He is a manager with lofty ideals. Note that I said 'lofty ideals.' This ideal is not something like avoiding relegation or getting the team into next year's European competition. This ideal is' becoming a champion. ' With a manager like this, it is not difficult for us to understand why Nottingham Forest has undergone earth-shattering changes under his leadership. They have jumped three levels in three years, and they are still constantly expanding their strength. Because this team is the same as their manager. They also have lofty ideals. "
※ ※ ※
Tang En's rejection of the offers that were quickly filling up his desk was tantamount to stabilizing the team's morale. Currently, Forest's players were very clear that following their boss would bring them a bright future. No one wanted to leave this team to choose a new adventure. That was also the intention of Tang En's public speech. He wanted to stabilize the team's morale before the new season. Only by putting their lives on the line would there be a good omen for the new season.
After that, he continued to take action in the transfer market.
In Tang En's words to Dunn, it was "How to make the club earn money is Allan's job, and my job is how to make Allan spend the money he earns."
Even though Mikel Arteta had performed well last season, Tang En was still annoyed that the team did not have a true attacking midfielder. Moreover, this midfield combination must have been thoroughly studied by the opponents. It was no different from a fool's dream to want to dominate the world without any changes in the new season.
He had to introduce more fresh blood into the midfield. Not only would it bring about more tactical changes, but it would also allow the current group of kids to maintain a sense of crisis at all times. He wanted them to know that there was no position in the world that they could not afford to be a main player for a long time.
This time, after comparing many candidates, he set his sights on the Netherlands.
He was very happy to see that the development of the situation was different from what he remembered. That was because there was an ideal candidate in his heart there. (To be continued. If you wish to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
