There was no need to guess or even think about it. The person looking for Tang En, hoping to talk to him, must be Allan Adams.
His nose was more sensitive than a wolfhound's when it came to matters of money.
Tang En also knew that he would look for him sooner or later. This summer, he had ruined what he thought were two great things. One was Ribéry, and the other was van Nistelrooy's "blank check" that had just ended. If either of these two deals were successful, the club's financial situation would be greatly improved.
This time, if Allan did not look for him, he would no longer be the club's marketing manager.
"I know you're coming for me. Look." Tang En pointed to the table with two steaming cups of coffee on it. "I've been preparing two cups for the past few days."
Allan was helpless. There were not many ways to deal with a hooligan like Tang En.
"All right, Tony. Since you know I'm coming for you, you clearly know why. I'll cut to the chase. Can you listen to my opinion? "
Tang En gestured for Allan to speak and sat in the boss's chair.
"To be honest, I don't know much about the internal affairs of the team, so I don't know what you think of Bendtner. But I think selling him now is the best option. "
Tang En nodded and gestured for him to continue.
"On one hand, Bendtner doesn't want to stay in the team at all now. For such a player, it's not wise to force him to stay. And it could also cause unrest in the locker room. "Speaking up to this point, Allan glanced at Tang En and found him lowering his head, as if in deep thought. After all, this had touched on Tang En's domain. He was afraid that Tang En would have a bad reaction. Now that it looked like he was slightly relieved, he continued, "On the other hand, I won't hide it from you, Tony. The club is in desperate need of money now. After you agreed to raise Ribéry's salary, the rest of the team also had the same intention. We have to meet their demands. In addition, the actual cost of building a new stadium is more than our budget. Some expenses are completely out of control … "
On this point, Allan had to admit that it was caused by his own inexperience. After all, he had not done any construction projects before and was not clear about many of them. It was not until the start of the new stadium that he realized that many things had not been considered thoroughly before. So, he could only fill it with money …
"Thirdly … the global economic environment isn't very good right now."
Tang En did not understand what Allan was talking about. He was an economic idiot. Terms like "global economic environment" sounded like something from another world.
"We need money to deal with some emergencies." After saying that, Allen spread out his hands. He had already said everything he could to Tang En. After working with Tang En for a few years, he was already familiar with his character. Tang En's personality was very tough. Sometimes, he was a little unreasonable, but he was not a stubborn rock. There were only two ways to make him accept what he did not want to do. One was to persuade him in a kind way. He was a clever man, and would know which was the best choice. The other was to do it simply and crudely. He directly bypassed Tang En and did not let him know. He would only tell him after the matter was decided and started to be implemented. As the saying goes, "What's done cannot be undone."
Of course, the second method would permanently damage the relationship between the two people, and Allen would not choose to do so unless he had no other choice. As for the first method … the only risk was that he did not know if Tang En would be convinced every time.
For example, this time.
After quietly listening to Allan's statement, Tang En was silent for a while before he looked up at the other man. "Right, Allan. I still have to apologize to you. "
"Huh?" Allan Adams was confused.
"About van Nistelrooy. I didn't discuss with you what I was going to do before. You must be very angry, right? "Tang En said very seriously to Allan.
Allan hurriedly waved his hands. "I know what you're going to do, but I really don't know what you're going to do. Besides, don't think so badly of me. I may be a businessman, but I'm also a man with a temper. I can't accept Manchester City's insulting approach. Businessmen pay attention to an equal relationship when doing business. Everyone is the same. No one is much nobler than the other. "
Twain smiled when he saw Allan explain in all seriousness.
"About Bendtner, can you give me time to think about it?"
Allan knew he could not ask Tang En to make a decision now. He was already giving him face by being willing to think about it instead of directly rejecting it. So he stood up and nodded. "I remember you don't have much time, Tony."
※ ※ ※
Yes, there was not much time. It was August 27th, less than four days before the transfer window closed.
Tang En did not talk to Bendtner again. Bendtner's father did not call Tang En again, and Manchester City did not make another new offer. Did they give up? This matter was resolved just like that?
Of course, it was impossible.
Tang En was trying his best to calm his heart down before sorting it out. Although the interview with Bendtner ended on bad terms, Tang En was still unwilling to let the Dane go. Mainly … he did not want to sell him to Manchester City. The thought of the Arabian's face made him feel sick.
As Tang En stood alone on the side of the training ground in a daze, he heard a sudden commotion on the training ground.
A fight?
Since the incident with Chimbonda and Bendtner, Tang En had been very sensitive to this. He hurriedly gathered his thoughts and fixed his eyes on it.
A group of people were running towards one point. Through the gap, he saw the team's number one center forward, van Nistelrooy, rubbing his thigh and sitting helplessly on the ground.
Injured?
He ran over to see what was going on.
When the team members saw that their boss had arrived, they all consciously made way for him. He went straight to van Nistelrooy's side and asked Fleming, who was busy. "What's the matter?"
"Muscle strain in his thigh." Fleming heard Tang En's voice and looked up at him. Perhaps it was the other man's frown that gave him another understanding, so he added, "It's not a big deal, but he definitely can't play in this weekend's game."
Hearing him say so, van Nistelrooy smiled and comforted Tang En. "I'm fine, boss."
Tang En nodded and then retreated. Dunn saw it from the side and caught up. "The starting list is going to be adjusted. Bendtner … "
Tang En shook his head. "We'll play 4-5-1 for the game the day after tomorrow."
"Who's that '1'?"
"Eastwood."
Dunn looked at Tang En strangely.
Tang En did not respond to his doubts. He just turned and walked away.
So, Dunn could only look back at Bendtner in the crowd. He was standing to the side drinking water, and his teammates were talking about van Nistelrooy's accidental injury. Lennon seemed to be talking to him, but it was obvious that Bendtner was distracted.
Did he want to play in this game, or not?
※ ※ ※
The opponent that Nottingham Forest faced in the third round of the league tournament was definitely not easy to deal with — it was their old enemy, Chelsea, who had been entangled with them for the past few seasons.
However, Chelsea's manager was not Mourinho or Grant, but "Big Phil" Scolari.
Although the new season had only started two rounds, this was still a focal battle. The media began to hype up this game. They used Chelsea's Forest team, which had yet to defeat Tony Twain, to ask Scolari.
The Brazilian was very smart, and he did not fall for it. He only said that it was someone else's result and had nothing to do with him. Then he stopped answering such questions.
Tang En had been busy fighting with Manchester City during this period, and did not have the time to cooperate with the media in a war of words with Scolari. Looking at how busy he was now, it really made people worry if he had properly prepared for the game against Chelsea …
The day before the game, Tang En announced the squad list for the next day's game in Wilford. Nicklas Bendtner's name was not on it.
Now, no one was surprised. The players were not blind or deaf, nor were they fools. They all knew about the news of Bendtner and Tang En's falling out, and knew that this man was determined to leave the team. Some people expressed understanding towards his reason for leaving, while others scoffed at it.
So, when Bendtner did not appear on the squad list, everyone knew that it must be deliberate by the boss. Was it a punishment? Yes, it must be a punishment and warning for a traitor.
Bendtner stood in the team with a bad expression. When Tang En said "dismiss," he was the first to turn and stride away.
He knew he had to leave, but he could not accept being treated like this before he left. In his heart, there was no longer any attachment to this team. He had already decided that if the team did not let him go, he would go back to Denmark and stop training!
"Tony, can you explain a little to me the purpose of your arrangement?" On the way home, Dunn asked. He had noticed Bendtner's performance earlier, and was a little worried.
"Someone is pointing fingers in front of me and questioning my tactical thinking. I want to let him know who the boss of this team is." Tang En's voice was very cold.
Dunn sighed. He knew that Tang En was really angry.
"But … what are you going to do about this?" He was referring to the matter of Bendtner's transfer.
This time, Tang En shook his head, and his tone was a little confused. "I don't know …"
He really did not know. On the one hand, he was angry at Bendtner's betrayal. On the other hand, he could not easily let go of the four years and the effort he had poured into him. Should he just admit defeat and let him go? Or should he force himself to stay in the team and let both sides suffer?
Just as Tang En was feeling helpless, the phone in his pocket rang.
Taking out his phone and glancing at it, Tang En smiled. "It's Bendtner's father. He must know that his son is not on the squad list for tomorrow's match. I can't tell that Bendtner is such an obedient child, telling his father immediately if anything happens. Tsk tsk … "
He shook his head and answered the call.
"Mr. Thomas Bendtner, how are you? I'm so glad that you still remembered to call me. I waited all day yesterday and didn't get a call from you. I thought you had given up. "
Tang En used honorifics enthusiastically, but Thomas Bendtner could not bring himself to smile at all. What he was most worried about was that his son would become Tony Twain's target of revenge. Now, it looked like his worry had become a reality.
"I think it's time to lay my cards on the table, Mr. Tang."
"What do you mean?" Tang En pretended to be surprised. "Didn't we lay our cards on the table a long time ago?"
"…"
"Your son insisted on leaving, but I didn't let him go. Isn't that what happened?"
As Tang En walked, he held up the phone to deal with Thomas Bendtner.
"I think I need to remind you, Mr. Tang. My son's contract with Forest Football Club will expire in July next year. My son's agent, Mr. Juric, and I have already reached an agreement that we will not have any contract renewal negotiations with Forest. I'm suggesting this out of the kindness of my heart. If you let my son go now, you still have money to earn. If you wait for a year … "
Tang En abruptly hung up the phone and threw it out with a swing of his hand. The quality of this new phone was better than the previous one. It bounced on the ground and only chipped off a corner.
Beside him, Dunn watched the scene unfold before his eyes in surprise. He did not know what Bendtner's father had said to Tang En on the other end of the phone to make him so angry. He turned his face to look and found Tang En's face full of anger.
"Son of a b * tch, you're threatening me!"
Dunn ran to the front and picked up the phone. He found the chipped corner and handed it to Tang En. "You need to change your habit of throwing your phone when you're angry."
"This is the only thing I have on hand to throw. Give me your phone. Don't worry, I won't throw it." Tang En did not take his phone but asked Dunn for his.
Dunn gave his to Tang En. Tang En dialed Allan Adams' cell phone number.
"Allan, give Manchester City a reply. Tell them that no one can buy Nicklas Bendtner for less than 30 million pounds! "
"Tony …" Dunn was a little worried when he heard him say that. "Isn't this price too high?"
Tang En hung up and returned the phone to Dunn. At the same time, he said to him, "Doesn't Manchester City like to be rich? I'll let them have their fill! "
His expression was ferocious, scaring Dunn even more. "What did Thomas Bendtner say to you?"
"He told me that Bendtner's contract still has a year to go, and that they do not intend to talk to the club about renewing the contract." Tang En glanced at Dunn. "I've forgotten about this before."
Dunn was speechless.
※ ※ ※
On the morning of the game against Chelsea, the Nottingham media were still engaged in a war of words with the Manchester City Football Club. The offer of 30 million pounds made Mark Hughes angrily denounce Tony Twain's insatiable greed. Pierce Brosnan helped Tang En fight back in the Evening Post, saying that Nottingham Forest's star of tomorrow, the top striker for the next decade, with a limitless future, the successor to van Nistelrooy whom Tang En valued, and the very handsome Nicklas Bendtner, was only selling him for 30 million. It was already very fair.
Allan Adams was adamant about the price of 30 million pounds. He was not afraid that Manchester City would not accept it. Because now all of England knew that Manchester City's forward line problem had reached a point where it had to be solved.
Manchester City had earlier contacted the young Brazilian striker, Jo, who had scored 30 goals in 53 games for CSKA Moscow. Although Jo wanted to play in the English Premier League, the transfer was very complicated. Jo's ownership was not in the hands of the CSKA Moscow army, but in the hands of MSI, just like Mascherano and Tevez back then. Because of the unhappy transfer of Tevez to Manchester United, MSI did not agree to release him this time. The English Football Association also stated that they wanted to stop the transfer. In addition to the old club not letting him go, there was another factor that troubled Jo's joining Manchester City — he did not qualify for a work permit.
Jo's matter dragged on like this. The transfer window was about to close, and MSI still had no intention of letting go. Helpless, Manchester City could only focus on Bendtner.
It was because of this background that Allan dared to make an exorbitant demand with Manchester City.
On the other side, Allan and the Manchester City Football Club kept the price to themselves. On the other side, Tang En's team encountered a tough battle.
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