Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 170

170: UEFA Super Cup

Burnley’s explosive start to the 2023 summer transfer window, highlighted by the sale of Karim Adeyemi to Real Madrid, set a frenetic pace for the market.

The movement of high-profile attackers was particularly noteworthy, with the most surprising transfer being Brazilian national team player Vinicius Junior, a key starter at Real Madrid, to PSG for a staggering £146 million.

With Lionel Messi and Neymar advancing in years, PSG’s aggressive pursuit of next-generation attackers to support Kylian Mbappé took the football world by surprise.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid, having lost Vinicius Junior, swiftly moved to acquire Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan for a transfer fee of £92 million, both appeasing fans and reinforcing their attack.

Real Madrid, signaling their intention to build their 2023/24 season around a three-pronged attack consisting of 25-year-old Lautaro Martinez, 21-year-old Karim Adeyemi, and 22-year-old Rodrigo, accelerated their generational shift by establishing a midfield of 20-year-old Eduardo Camavinga, 25-year-old Federico Valverde, and 23-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni.

On the other hand, Newcastle United made the most eye-catching reinforcements in the transfer market.

Backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Newcastle focused on acquiring players proven in the Premier League and promising mega-prospects from overseas leagues.

Consequently, West Ham’s Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma, Ajax’s Jurriën Timber, and Sassuolo’s Giacomo Raspadori and Hamed Traoré donned Newcastle’s iconic black and white stripes, in deals totaling £240 million.

However, overshadowing even the biggest player transfers was the resignation of Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, after six seasons.

The tactical mastermind, who forged a fierce rivalry with Liverpool in the Premier League and delivered numerous trophies, including the Premier League title and the coveted Champions League trophy, to Manchester City, announced he would take a break, citing mental and physical exhaustion.

As the football world reeled from the shock, Manchester City quickly appointed Spanish national team coach Luis Enrique as their new manager, ensuring continuity while bolstering the squad by acquiring Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich for £100 million.

Amidst all the high-profile moves, Burnley’s acquisition of two players from the Italian Serie A to cover injuries and strengthen the squad largely flew under the radar, except for Burnley fans.

***

[Welcome to Burnley!]

[Thank you for coming out to greet us.]

One of the two newly signed players for Burnley, the shorter one, greeted Carolina, who was welcoming them in Italian in front of the Barnfield Training Centre (Burnley’s training ground).

Emanuel Vignato, 22 years old.

A product of Chievo’s youth academy in the Italian Serie A, Bologna quickly signed him in the 2018/19 season when Chievo was relegated to Serie B, having been monitoring promising players within the same league.

After a loan spell back at Chievo, he debuted for Bologna.

In the 2020/21 season, he played in 31 games, establishing himself as one of Italy’s hottest prospects, but a serious ankle injury sidelined him for the entire 2021/22 season.

Last season, 2022/23, he played in 18 games, regaining his form after his recovery. Burnley, urgently seeking attacking reinforcements, accelerated the signing they had originally planned for the 2024/25 season by a year.

Although he stands at a modest 175cm, Burnley’s scouting team highly valued his unique Italian flair and individual technique, his dedicated work ethic, and, above all, his resilience and positive attitude following a major injury.

[Nice to meet you too!]

The greeter on the other side was a towering figure of 201cm.

Lorenzo Lucca, 22 years old.

While Emanuel Vignato’s career path through Chievo and Bologna was relatively straightforward, Lorenzo Lucca’s journey was a more arduous, self-made story.

He started in Torino’s youth system, but as his height rapidly increased, his reflexes and skills struggled to keep pace, leading to his release at the young age of 13.

Despite facing ridicule and suggestions to pursue basketball, Lorenzo Lucca persevered.

After stints in the youth teams of Chieri and Atletico Torino in Serie D (Italy’s fourth division), he joined Vicenza in Serie C (third division) and eventually rejoined Torino’s under-18 team in Serie A.

However, after a loan spell at Brescia in Serie B (second division), he was released again due to perceived skill deficiencies.

Palermo, relegated to Serie C due to financial difficulties, took a chance on him.

Lorenzo Lucca, initially unsure how to leverage his immense height, exploded in Serie C, scoring 13 goals in 27 games under the dedicated guidance of the coaching staff, developing the muscle mass to match his height at the age of 19.

Pisa in Serie B, impressed by his performance, paid a transfer fee of £2 million – a significant sum for a smaller team – to sign the player who had just turned 20. Lorenzo Lucca repaid the team’s faith by scoring an impressive 48 goals in 75 games in Serie B over the next two seasons.

Pisa, spearheaded by Lorenzo Lucca, narrowly missed out on promotion to Serie A, but Burnley’s scouting team, who had been successfully utilizing tall strikers since Hyungmin’s arrival, had already identified his unique physical attributes and mental fortitude.

Carolina smiled as she looked at the two prospects who had just arrived from Italy.

[Let me say it again, welcome to Burnley! Now, let’s go inside.]

Quickly leading them through the Barnfield Training Centre, Carolina gestured and explained the facilities.

[…I’ll ask Nikki or Tommaso to give you a proper explanation of the facilities soon. We just came in from Korea yesterday, so everyone is a bit out of it.]

[Ah, I see.]

The two players nodded, observing the somewhat chaotic atmosphere inside the training center, even during pre-season.

[The manager said he would come out himself, but he suddenly got caught up with something he had to take care of.]

[Ah, of course. That can happen. We’re fine.]

Lorenzo Lucca, who had experienced his share of instability, replied politely, belying his imposing size.

[Anyway, Tommaso and Marco are so happy that fellow Italians have come. So is Luca. Andre has been in Lazio for a long time, so basically… it’s like we have five Italians on our team now.]

Finally reaching the locker room, Carolina opened the door, and a wave of youthful shouts and loud music spilled out.

“Hey! I told you to turn down the volume!”

“Oh? It’s the new guys!!”

Carolina laughed and shouted into the locker room, but the players ignored her and rushed out to surround the new arrivals.

“Wow! You’re really tall! I think you’re taller than Marco or Bailey?”

“We need to get Benyamin to measure your height!”

[Welcome, compatriots!]

Unlike Emanuel Vignato, who seemed slightly overwhelmed by the boisterous welcome, Lorenzo Lucca smirked and spread his long arms wide.

Having learned from his nomadic journey, he knew that holding back as a rookie only prolonged the adaptation process.

“Lorenzo Lucca is coming through!”

“Woo-hoo!!”

As Burnley’s young players cheered at the new player’s confident declaration, Lorenzo Lucca, with his arm around a slightly bewildered Emanuel Vignato, marched into the locker room with a confident stride.

***

“What the F***!”

The manager, standing in the technical area (the area near the sideline where the manager can stand during a match), swore, but no one attempted to restrain him.

In fact, half of Burnley’s bench was echoing his sentiments, while the other half anxiously watched the game unfold.

Andre Anderson, already sitting on the bench with ice packs covering his body, closed his eyes in despair as fitness coach Paulo Morão ran onto the field and signaled for a substitution with a large X.

“Damn it!”

As Hyungmin swore again and kicked the turf, Jamal Lewis hurriedly began to prepare for substitution without needing specific instructions from the manager or head coach.

Andre Anderson, who had started as a right winger, was carried off the field with an injury after just 25 minutes, and before the first half concluded, Dwight McNeil, the established left winger, collapsed after a collision with an opposing player.

This brought the total number of injured attackers for Burnley to five.

Including Sebastian Szymanski, a midfielder with a strong attacking inclination, the number rose to six.

Fortunately, Benyamin Šeško was showing signs of a swift recovery and was expected to return by the end of August, but an injury crisis had clearly struck, affecting both existing players and new signings.

As Dwight McNeil was helped off the sideline by the team doctor and fitness coach, Jamal Lewis, with the referee’s permission, sprinted onto the field.

“What are we going to do?”

Nicholas Seiwald, wearing the captain’s armband, asked the players around him.

The ball was positioned just outside Liverpool’s penalty box.

A prime location for a direct free kick.

The problem was that Dwight McNeil, just carried off, was the last remaining designated free-kick taker on the field.

From this point forward, the players would have to improvise.

“I’ll take it.”

The players exchanged glances at Jamal Lewis’s declaration, having just entered the game.

“Are you sure? You haven’t warmed up yet.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll take it.”

Nicholas Seiwald hesitated for a moment at Jamal Lewis’s confident response to the captain’s question before handing over the ball.

There were no better options available, and it wasn’t Burnley’s style to object when a player stepped up to take responsibility.

“Then I’ll make some space.”

Jamal Lewis nodded at the words of the towering Lorenzo Lucca, who had been listening to the conversation.

“Please.”

As Jamal Lewis carefully placed the ball on the grass, Nicholas Seiwald directed the players to their positions.

Given that it was a direct free kick, preventing a counterattack was more crucial than chasing a rebound.

While the defense and most of the midfielders retreated, Lorenzo Lucca, starting as a central striker, and Emanuel Vignato, who had replaced Andre Anderson as a right winger, positioned themselves near Liverpool’s defensive wall.

“Where do you even find guys like you?”

Liverpool’s world-class defender Virgil van Dijk grumbled, annoyed by the presence of an even taller player than himself.

Lorenzo Lucca, ignoring the veteran defender’s attempt to provoke him, carefully stepped away from the ball and focused his attention on Jamal Lewis, who was awaiting the referee’s signal.

The referee, after checking the distance between Liverpool’s defensive wall and the ball, as well as the positioning of the remaining players, nodded and raised the whistle to his mouth.

Beeeep!

The moment Jamal Lewis sprinted towards the ball and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, Lorenzo Lucca…

…bent over.

“Huh?!!”

“Hey, you F***!”

The Liverpool players forming the defensive wall swore in unison as the 2-meter-tall wall suddenly developed a gaping hole.

Shocked by such an unconventional move from a giant of a man, the Liverpool players watched in horror as Jamal Lewis’s unstoppable shot sailed through the space vacated by Lorenzo Lucca.

“Damn it!”

Second-choice goalkeeper Kelleher, filling in for the injured Alisson, launched himself towards the ball with a curse, but before he could reach the right side of the goal, where he expected the defensive wall to provide a natural barrier, the perfectly struck ball flew into the upper right corner of the net.

“Uwaaaaa!!!”

The Burnley fans, occupying half of the 51,500 seats in the stadium, erupted in celebration as Jamal Lewis, scoring a stunning free kick with his first touch after coming on as a substitute, sprinted towards the stands.

“Yes!”

Hyungmin, standing in the technical area, and the coaching staff and players on the bench clenched their fists and cheered.

44 minutes into the first half.

Burnley took a 1-0 lead.

***

Burnley Football Club’s Outgoing and Transfer List for the 2023 Summer Transfer Market:

– Karim Adeyemi, 21 years old. Forward. Transferred to Real Madrid, Spain for £73 million (10% of the profit, £5.8 million, paid to RB Salzburg)

– Max Cornet, 26 years old. Forward. Transferred to Southampton, England for £35 million

– Abdou Diallo, 27 years old. Defender. Transferred to Tottenham, England for £30 million

– Charlie Taylor, 29 years old. Defender. Transferred to Chelsea, England for £21 million (15%, £3.15 million, paid to Leeds)

– Nick Pope, 31 years old. Goalkeeper. Transferred to SC Braga, Portugal for £20 million

– James Tarkowski, 30 years old. Defender. Transferred to Sevilla, Spain for £20 million

– Jung Taejin, 35 years old. Forward. Retired.

– Nico Gonzalez, 21 years old. Midfielder. Returned to Barcelona, Spain after loan

– Joe Gelhardt, 21 years old. Forward. Returned to Leeds, England after loan

– Total Income: £199 million

Burnley Football Club’s Incoming List for the 2023 Summer Transfer Market:

– Marco Carnesecchi, 22 years old. Goalkeeper. Signed from Atalanta, Italy for £16 million

– Keane Lewis-Potter, 22 years old. Forward. Signed from Hull City, England for £11 million

– Tommaso Pobega, 23 years old. Midfielder. Signed from AC Milan, Italy for £10 million

– Patrick de Paula, 23 years old. Midfielder. Signed from Palmeiras, Brazil for £10 million

– Adam Hložek, 20 years old. Forward. Signed from Sparta Prague, Czech Republic for £8.5 million

– Emanuel Vignato, 22 years old. Forward. Signed from Bologna, Italy for £8 million

– Amar Dedić, 20 years old. Defender. Signed from RB Salzburg, Austria for £7.75 million

– Luca Pellegrini, 24 years old. Defender. Signed from Juventus, Italy for £7.5 million

– Lorenzo Lucca, 22 years old. Forward. Signed from Pisa, Italy for £6.5 million

– Oscar Mingueza, 24 years old. Defender. Signed from Barcelona, Spain as a free agent

– Andre Anderson, 23 years old. Forward. Signed from Lazio, Italy as a free agent

– Cher Ndour, 18 years old. Midfielder. Signed from Benfica, Portugal as a free agent

– Anselmo Garcia-MacNulty, 20 years old. Defender. Returned from loan from Basel, Switzerland

– Total Expenditure: £85.25 million

Burnley Football Club’s Loan Signings List for the 2023 Summer Transfer Market:

– None

Burnley Football Club’s Net Profit for the 2023 Summer Transfer Market: +£113.75 million