Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 154

154. Preparing for the Future

The day after their dramatic victory against Manchester City, Burnley’s Football Director, Jonathan Landris, peeked into Hyungmin’s office.

“Kim, got a minute?”

“Yes, of course.”

As Jonathan walked in, he glanced around the office.

He’d been here often, but it was still as bare as ever.

A large desk and chair at the far end, a U-shaped sofa in front of it, and a large TV hanging on one wall. The only decorations were the two Manager of the Year trophies displayed in front of the window.

“You don’t seem very interested in decorating your office,” Jonathan remarked as Hyungmin, who had been sitting behind his desk, stood and approached him.

Hyungmin tilted his head, surprised by the comment about his office, which he’d occupied for nearly two years. “Well… I don’t really like having a lot of stuff.”

“Well, maybe, but…” *Isn’t this a bit too spartan?*

Jonathan pushed the thought aside and sat on the sofa opposite Hyungmin, getting straight to the point. “First, some good news. Sparta Prague has accepted our offer.”

Jonathan and Burnley were prepared to go up to £10 million, but Sparta Prague agreed to £8.5 million plus 10% of the profit from the next transfer.

Having watched Burnley’s moves, they seemed to have judged that Adam Hložek would be worth well over £25 million in his next transfer.

“Oh, that’s great!”

“Yeah. And we’ve also received a response from AC Milan. Tomaso’s permanent transfer is confirmed.”

“Nice!” Hyungmin clenched his fist.

Securing the Italian midfielder, who had been a valuable asset this season and a key part of the midfield, was excellent news.

“We had a bit of a tussle, but we agreed to £10 million plus 10% of the profit from the next transfer. Tomaso’s agent seems to have strongly protested to AC Milan as well, saying he wouldn’t renew his contract unless they guaranteed him playing time next season.”

Tommaso Pobega still had a considerable amount of time left on his contract with AC Milan, but if AC Milan couldn’t provide him with playing time, they would have to send him out on loan to reduce their wage bill.

If he spent another season or two like that and was released on a free transfer, he would be 25.

From the player’s perspective, it wasn’t entirely without risk, but if they could get a young midfielder who had already proven himself at Torino in Serie A and at Burnley in the Premier League for free, there would be plenty of clubs interested.

And above all, they had sent a young prospect from their youth academy out on loan for five consecutive seasons.

Whether it was from a moral or financial standpoint, AC Milan had no choice but to accept the agent’s strong stance.

“So, what’s the bad news?”

“Bad news?” Jonathan, who was organizing his thoughts, was startled by Hyungmin’s question, which seemed to see right through him.

“How did you know there was bad news?”

“You said ‘first’ good news earlier. So…” Hyungmin shrugged.

Jonathan gave a wry smile as he looked at the young manager, who had become a little sharper since they first met.

“Yes, there is bad news. You’re probably expecting it.”

“Indeed. Nico…”

He had considered Nico Gonzalez’s sudden red card from various angles, and it seemed like he was under a lot of stress.

If so, what could have caused Nico Gonzalez to be under so much stress and pressure recently?

Jonathan’s words were not surprising to Hyungmin, who had anticipated the situation.

“Barcelona is demanding £40 million.”

“Whoa!” Hyungmin exclaimed softly.

Well, it’s not an unreasonable price considering the value of a Premier League starting midfielder.

He’s only 21 years old, from Barcelona’s famed *La Masia* [youth academy], and a player whose passing ability, defensive skills, work rate, stamina, dedicated character, and creativity have all been proven at the highest level.

“We showed our hand too much…” Hyungmin muttered bitterly.

“It couldn’t be helped, could it? You must have thought this could happen when you chose this method from the beginning.”

The same goes for Hannibal Mejbri and Jacob Ramsey, who returned to their respective teams at the end of last season.

Jacob Ramsey is now a starter at Aston Villa, and his publicly discussed value has soared to over £30 million.

Perhaps they would have to pay even more than that to actually sign him.

Hannibal Mejbri still seemed to be classified as a rotation player at Manchester United, but he was showing good performances every time he played, and his market value was being set in the £20 million range.

“We can try to lower it a bit, but it’s hard to say it will go down to £30 million,” Jonathan said apologetically.

He couldn’t understand the mentality of the Barcelona management, who had been teetering on the brink of financial ruin for several seasons, but he knew that they would not give away their players cheaply.

Perhaps they knew that if they carelessly gave away just one player, the value of their other players and their financial situation, which they had barely managed to maintain, would be destroyed in an instant.

“It can’t be helped. At least it’s outside our budget,” Hyungmin said with a sigh, giving up.

Although they had never officially declared it, Jonathan and Burnley’s scouting team had an unspoken rule that they would not spend more than £20 million to sign a single player.

This wasn’t simply set in consideration of Burnley’s financial situation, but a result derived from statistically analyzing numerous transfers and their results worldwide over the past 10 seasons.

Statistically, when spending more than £20 million on a transfer fee and signing a player, it is very rare for them to be re-transferred at a higher price.

It’s unusual that Burnley is gathering good prospects and developing them quickly; usually, £20 million or more is the transfer fee paid to players who are already somewhat established, which means they have reached their mid-20s.

If they play well for about 3-4 seasons, they will be in their late 20s to early 30s.

Unless they are players with world-class skills, they usually leave for other teams with a lower transfer fee than when they arrived.

“By the way, if Nico returns, will there be a place for him at Barcelona?”

“Hmm…”

He could end up floating around and wasting a season like Oscar Mingueza.

The problem is that Oscar Mingueza only had one season left on his contract, but Nico Gonzalez still has a lot of time left on his contract.

Will he be given enough time and opportunity to show his skills among Pedri, Gabi, the midfielders from *La Masia* who keep popping up like a cornucopia, and the big signings they constantly bring in from outside?

Nico Gonzalez had been a promising midfielder whom Barcelona had cherished and nurtured, but for a big club like Barcelona, it’s easy to discard a prospect in an instant.

This is especially true for the current management, who are focused on mega-signings to quell the fans’ resentment over the broken financial situation.

The faces of the two men, worried about Nico Gonzalez’s situation, darkened slightly.

“Haa… I wish we could help Nico… Anyway, if that happens, we’ll have to move on to other targets for the midfield.”

“Yeah. Let’s discuss that further after we have a little more time.”

There is already a list of potential recruits that the scouting team has drawn up, but the final priorities can only be determined by matching them with the manager’s tactical plans for next season.

“Okay. Since Nico and Jo will be returning to their original teams, I won’t talk to Tomaso about it yet.”

“Hmm… Then I’ll keep the agent and AC Milan in check. Everyone knows that this is an important time, so they’ll cooperate.”

There’s nothing that will change just by telling them in advance, and shaking up Burnley, who are competing for a spot in the European Champions League and the UEFA Europa League title, will only hurt the player.

Jonathan, who had finished the conversation, stood up, then suddenly smiled as if he had remembered something.

“Oh, this might be close to a joke, but Manchester City also contacted us this morning.”

Hyungmin tilted his head in confusion at Jonathan’s words. “Who contacted who about what?”

“Manchester City wants to sign Dwight.”

“…Huh?”

Jonathan Landris also shook his head at Hyungmin’s dumbfounded expression.

“Txiki Begiristain [Manchester City’s Director of Football] called me directly. Pep Guardiola [Manchester City’s manager] was really fed up after yesterday’s game. He knows we won’t sell him, but he asked us to let them know first if we ever think about transferring him. No matter how much another team offers, they’ll match that amount or more.”

“Oh…”

Burnley’s only youth academy ace in the first team.

No, he’s just the only youth academy player in Burnley’s first team.

He has practically become the symbol of the team, and the fact that such an offer is coming in when neither the Burnley club nor the player himself has much intention of leaving…

“…Dwight has scored a hat-trick twice in the Premier League against Manchester City alone in the last two seasons.”

Hyungmin immediately understood Jonathan’s words, who had already considered this concern.

“Ah, I guess it would be really annoying.”

He has already poured cold water on Manchester City’s Premier League title race for two seasons in a row.

It would be understandable if this was a rivalry, but frankly, there is no connection between Manchester City and Burnley that could be called a rivalry.

*He doesn’t do this in other games, so why does he go crazy only against us and score a hat-trick every time?!*

Pep Guardiola’s screams seem to be ringing in his ears.

No, he must have already complained to Manchester City’s football director, Txiki Begiristain.

That’s why Jonathan got a call this morning.

It’s nothing more than an act of comforting their suffering manager, but they must have had a slight hope.

From Manchester City’s point of view, Dwight McNeil is a creative midfielder who has been proven in the Premier League; he is young and can fill the homegrown quota.

England national team manager Gareth Southgate is also said to be interested in Dwight McNeil, so it is also an opportunity to have the next generation of England national team’s left and right wings at the same time as Phil Foden.

“Oh…”

“I know. I already rejected it; I’m just telling you that such a thing happened.”

Hyungmin chuckled at Jonathan’s answer. “I see. So, in the end, they’re just saying, ‘Please don’t sell him to anyone else.'”

“That’s right.”

Jonathan, who had finished the conversation, got up from his seat and asked as if he had remembered something at the door. “So, how’s the preparation for the Liverpool game going?”

The manager sighed deeply at the football director’s question. “Haa… Not well, of course.”