Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 151

“I’m sad we couldn’t compete until the very end.”

“And?”

“I wish we could play on the same team next time?”

The day after the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Sparta Prague.

After finishing the morning recovery training and giving the players the afternoon off, Hyungmin and the coaching staff gathered in the first team meeting room.

“What did he say then?”

While Karolina was pressing for details about the conversation between Hyungmin and Adam Hložek on the sidelines at the end of the game, Paulo Morao, who had been listening with great interest, chimed in.

“Did he ask if you were coming to Sparta Prague as the manager?”

“Pwahahaha!”

Paulo Morao and Jung Taejin burst out laughing at the youngster’s audacity.

“Well, an ace from the youth academy should have that much confidence.”

Taejin said, wiping away the tears that had welled up after laughing for a long time.

“I guess? It wasn’t bad. Well, he must have been able to withstand the pressure so far because he has that much confidence.”

Karolina nodded at Hyungmin’s words.

“So, this summer transfer market?”

“Yeah. I think we’ll make an offer. Jonathan seems to have made up his mind, and their agent seems to be responding positively.”

“I see.”

There were still many hurdles to overcome, such as negotiations with the opposing club, but thanks to playing against them as many as four times this season, they were able to extract as much information as they wanted about the opposing players.

“What do the defenders say? They must have faced him most directly, right?”

Hyungmin shook his head at Taejin’s question.

“They say he’s annoying to deal with.”

“That’s high praise.”

Taejin, who knew well about the psychological warfare between attackers and defenders, nodded.

If the defenders, who hate to show even the slightest weakness, evaluated him that way, then the player’s quality was as good as verified.

And since they had enough time to check his personality and other private matters for almost two seasons, Burnley no longer needed to worry, at least from their perspective.

“When will the offer be made?”

Hyungmin tilted his head at Taejin’s question.

“Well? I don’t think the transfer budget for next season has been finalized yet?”

“It seems like whether or not they secure a Champions League spot is a big deal.”

“I think so. Helena and Jonathan are still discussing it.”

***

“Ugh…”

Helena and Jonathan, who had a ledger displayed on the large screen in the meeting room, clutched their heads.

Burnley, which promotes itself as an eco-friendly club, doesn’t usually use paper unless it’s absolutely necessary, but documents with numbers and calculations scribbled all over them were scattered on the table.

“I don’t think we can do it. We can’t set the final budget here, so let’s divide the scenarios and make plans.”

“Yes, I think that’s the best way.”

It was a mistake to even attempt to calculate the income and expenses of a season that wasn’t even over yet to determine profits, and then to set the budget for the next season on top of that.

“First of all, the positions we’ve confirmed to sign in the summer are winger and midfielder, right?”

“Yes. Well, it would be nice to have two midfielders, but we also have Cher Ndour and we can also consider a loan if necessary.”

“Then… Tomaso and Adam Hložek?”

Helena, who had already received the list of priority signings from Jonathan, pondered.

“How much are you expecting?”

“I expect both of them to be negotiated for under £10 million.”

“Wasn’t the permanent transfer option we have for Tomaso £14 million?”

Jonathan shook his head, once again impressed by Helena’s ability to remember numbers.

“£14 million is correct, but we don’t have to pay all of that.”

“Oh, is negotiation possible?”

Jonathan nodded confidently at Helena’s question, who raised one eyebrow and looked intrigued.

“AC Milan reinforced their midfield resources too much last season. I know it’s a loan, but a permanent transfer clause is included as a mandatory provision after the season ends. But Tomaso has grown too much. The risk of the player refusing is too high to send him back on loan to a decent team is too high.”

“So you think we can negotiate for under £10 million?”

“Yes. I talked to Paolo Maldini a bit… and he wasn’t completely negative. Of course, he said he had to get permission from Elliott Management.”

Burnley isn’t the only club whose owner is facing bankruptcy, and Cartwright Fund isn’t the only American fund that has stepped in as a savior after the owner faced bankruptcy.

It was the American mega-hedge fund Elliott Management that saved AC Milan, which had faced bankruptcy after reckless expansion by its Chinese owner.

Elliott Management’s move to normalize the club’s finances and win Serie A [Italy’s top professional football league] within four seasons of the acquisition, successfully rebuilding the prestigious club, was being hailed as a model case by American figures and funds acquiring European football clubs.

“Okay. So Tomaso is £10 million. What about Adam Hložek?”

“That’s a maximum of £10 million there. I think we can negotiate below that. But…”

“But?”

Jonathan shrugged.

“This time, Sparta Prague has grown too much by reaching the Europa League semi-finals. If we don’t make an offer quickly, we might get a lot of competitors.”

“Wouldn’t that happen anyway? Wouldn’t Sparta Prague send offers here and there to raise the price?”

Jonathan smiled and shook his head at Helena’s question.

“Other teams don’t have Kim, do they?”

“Ah.”

A manager who actively uses young players regardless of age, even if they are judged to be slightly lacking in skill, as long as they are deemed to have sufficient potential.

Moreover, they are competing in the top tier of the Premier League, won the Carabao Cup [English Football League Cup] this season following last season’s FA Cup [Football Association Challenge Cup], and have a very high chance of going to the Champions League next season.

Helena nodded at Jonathan, who explained in a nutshell the structure in which young players from all over Europe want to come to Burnley.

“Okay. But if Adam Hložek comes, then Joe…”

“We won’t be able to bring him.”

Jonathan replied with a slightly clouded face.

Joe Gelhardt had been on loan from Leeds this season and had played a valuable role, but his performance fluctuated too much from game to game.

Aside from the advantage of filling the homegrown quota because he is an English national, frankly, he is no better than Adam Hložek in terms of skill, stability, or, above all, price.

After reaching that seemingly ruthless conclusion together, Jonathan, who had opened a bottle of whiskey with Hyungmin and Karolina out of bitter feelings, sighed.

“Well, Leeds manager Jesse Marsch wouldn’t mind. They keep losing wingers there.”

Last summer, Raphinha, who was the core of Leeds’ attack, left for Barcelona, and there are constant transfer rumors about English winger Jack Harrison, who has been active this season.

“Still, it’s a relief that he has a definite place to return to.”

“I guess so.”

Helena, who sighed, returned to the main topic.

“So, we need £20 million in total? But Wout’s transfer brought in £30 million in transfer fees anyway, right?”

Helena quickly ran the numbers in her head.

“80% of that is £24 million, so I’ll give you priority to use a budget of £24 million. The weekly wage budget will be higher than this season, not lower, so feel free to use it. I’ll increase the transfer budget later when the figures are finalized.”

“Ah, I see.”

Jonathan also ran the numbers in his head.

He doesn’t know as much as Helena, but he memorizes the weekly wage and bonus structure of the squad.

Jonathan nodded after comparing the weekly wages of players who have already been confirmed for free transfers, players who will remain, and players who are likely to leave in his head.

“I think that’s enough for now.”

“Whew! That’s a relief.”

Helena breathed a sigh of relief.

“We can’t decide on the budget for next season because of whether or not we qualify for the Champions League… When will it be finalized?”

When Helena asked in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere, Jonathan raised one eyebrow this time.

“Why don’t you ask Kim directly about that?”

“Hehe. I thought it might be a bit of a burden.”

The married man chuckled at Helena’s words that she didn’t want to burden the other person when the atmosphere was good these days.

“I think we’ve definitely outdistanced Aston Villa. It won’t be easy to close the gap even if we lose all the remaining games and they win all of them. And conversely, Chelsea is now a bit…”

“…It will be difficult for us to catch up.”

While Burnley was groaning with a thin squad and injuries, juggling the Premier League and the Europa League, Chelsea, who had completed the managerial change, went all-in on the Premier League and surged forward.

They may not be able to challenge the two-team system of Manchester City and Liverpool this season, but many critics are putting out the assessment that it is definitely possible next season.

Of course, they argued that some weak positions needed to be reinforced as a condition, but from Burnley’s perspective, who are leading the youngest squad in the Premier League, which is made up of less than 1/10 of the Chelsea squad’s price, to 4th place, it was frankly an absurd argument.

“In the end, it’s a real battle with Tottenham.”

“Well, we have the upper hand in the Premier League right now, but our remaining schedule is more unfavorable.”

The point difference between Burnley and Tottenham is 5 points.

However, compared to Tottenham, who have no remaining games against teams in the top 6, Burnley has three remaining games against teams in the top 6, including Manchester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.

With both teams having 5 games left, Burnley could be pushed back significantly if they fail to secure points against strong teams.

“And on top of that, the Europa League…”

In the Europa League semi-final on the opposite side of the bracket from Burnley and Sparta Prague, Tottenham won both North London derbies against Arsenal, who were still struggling after their manager was sacked.

Antonio Conte, who even used all of his substitution cards in the second half of the game and leisurely succeeded in managing the players’ stamina, is in a situation where he is vowing to avenge the two losses he suffered against Burnley in the Premier League this season.

“Hyungmin is really afraid of Antonio Conte.”

“Is he a tactically difficult opponent?”

Jonathan, slightly surprised by hearing that for the first time, asked, and Helena shook her head.

“No. He keeps trying to get him to drink whenever they meet… and it’s hard to avoid him. He’s hiding the wine bottle he gave him somewhere in his office, and he keeps telling me to take it and drink it. He says if he gets caught, he’ll definitely force him to drink it.”

“Ah…”

While Helena, who knows Hyungmin’s alcohol tolerance almost to the drop, clicked her tongue as if she was dissatisfied, Jonathan, who had heard something he had never imagined, blinked his eyes.