Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 166

Summer Transfer Market, End!

166: Summer Transfer Market, End!

Having achieved the double by winning both the Premier League and the European Champions League, Liverpool hadn’t even held their victory parade yet.

However, Burnley, who achieved a smaller double by winning the Europa League and the Carabao Cup, completed the transfer and acquisition of players in all positions except for one goalkeeper spot just two weeks after the season ended.

On top of that, they even blew up their old stadium to build a new one.

[…Well, it’s not easy to judge whether this is really good business or if they’re being too hasty…]

[…From Burnley manager Kim’s perspective, it’s probably a positive thing that the squad is practically finalized before the pre-season starts.]

Although it’s the summer break, various soccer analysis programs on TV are even more active because they cover the numerous news and rumors arising from the transfer market.

And Burnley, who are filling the usually quiet first two weeks of the transfer market with news, are appearing at the forefront, enthusiastically supported by producers and hosts in charge of soccer and sports programs.

[…Anyway, Burnley’s football director Jonathan Landris once again showed his skills and made a great income.]

A specially invited accounting expert continued the explanation in front of a large screen displaying analyzed data.

“The total transfer revenue is approximately £200 million.”

“The expenditures announced so far are £54.75 million.”

“Of course, the amount spent to acquire the transferred players is not included, but it is estimated that they made a net profit of approximately £150 million.”

“Considering the Europa League prize money and the special compensation for finishing 4th in the Premier League…”

[…We’ll have to wait for the official report for the 2022/23 season to find out, but it seems like Burnley Football Club will be the real winner of last season.]

[…I brought the figures from the 2021/22 season and calculated them. First of all, the broadcasting rights revenue is almost £100 million. By winning the Europa League, they earned approximately £20 million in broadcasting rights and win bonuses. They are expected to earn £30 million for finishing 4th in the Premier League.]

The commentator analyzing the numbers whistled.

[…In addition, I understand that Burnley’s sponsorship and merchandise revenue has also increased significantly this season. It seems that Burnley’s CEO Helena Cartwright has shown her skills. If you think they made about £50 million there…]

[…Even excluding the £150 million earned in the transfer market, that’s £200 million. This is definitely number one among clubs other than the Big Six (the six most dominant and financially powerful clubs in the Premier League).]

Although it was still difficult to challenge Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool, they had almost succeeded in catching up with Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal.

They are now close behind the three London clubs, which are recording annual revenues in the £400 million range.

Of course, it won’t be easy to have a Karim Adeyemi-level jackpot in the transfer market every season, but it was a heaven-and-earth change for a club whose ownership was transferred at a bargain price just two seasons ago due to the owner’s bankruptcy.

Burnley fans were singing praises for the manager and promising to erect a statue of the manager in front of the new stadium, but among the financial officers in European soccer, where unexpected events rarely occur, it was being evaluated as a major revolution, to the point where there were questions about whether it would be more appropriate to erect a statue of Helena Cartwright instead.

[…In addition, once the New Turf Moor, which started construction this season, is completed, ticket sales revenue and event revenue, which have been sluggish, are expected to increase more than twofold.]

Burnley’s ticket sales revenue and event revenue for one season are approximately £15 million.

This is not comparable to Tottenham, which is known to be building a state-of-the-art stadium in the heart of London and earning close to £100 million from ticket sales and various events alone, but it was positive in terms of diversifying revenue streams in a stable manner.

[…I don’t know much about this, but I’ve heard rumors that Cartwright Fund has a legendary ability to revive failed companies even on Wall Street.]

The host, who was listening to the accounting expert’s evaluation, said.

[…I didn’t really understand what that meant… but looking at it this way, I can’t help but say it’s truly legendary.]

A soccer team from a rural town nestled between the large cities of Manchester and Leeds challenged the Big Six, defeating numerous prestigious clubs based in large cities such as London and Birmingham.

Captivating fans and critics alike with their performance, finances, and even style.

As the accounting expert, who had completed the analysis, left with a slightly regretful expression, the host turned to face the panelists in the studio.

[…Now, the last remaining position for Burnley is the goalkeeper, and I’m curious to know what Jonathan Landris is thinking.]

[…Well… I can guarantee that whatever player he signs, he will surprise us in a very refreshing way.]

The entire studio burst into laughter at the elderly panelist’s indifferent remarks.

While the panelists were exchanging jokes, Jonathan Landris, who was rumored to be involved with every goalkeeper under the age of 23 who had made a name for himself in Europe, was struggling to finalize the last deal of this transfer market.

***

[…No! I can’t accept those conditions.]

[…They said they don’t like it? Then tell them goodbye with regret.]

[…Uh, it’s okay if the deal falls through. It’s more important not to look like a pushover.]

Jonathan ended the call with the scout and sighed, throwing his phone on the desk.

“What if you raise the budget a little more?” Helena asked, having listened to the conversation next to him.

Jonathan shook his head vigorously.

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have offered to return the transfer budget. No, I wouldn’t have come to Burnley from Liverpool!”

“I see….”

The reason why Jonathan Landris abandoned his position as head of power analysis at Liverpool and took office as technical director at Burnley was that he found it boring because most deals went as he wanted with a lot of money and a famous manager.

“Well, let me know if you need more support.”

“Okay. But this is the last deal of this summer’s transfer market, so I want to finish it very cleanly.”

Helena smiled at the confidently speaking football director but also sent a warning.

“Jonathan, that doesn’t mean the reinforcement of the team can be delayed.”

“Yes, I remember that. To finish signing players before the Korean tour starts. That was what we agreed with Kim.”

The manager, faced with the situation of transferring all of the team’s ace and veteran players, approved all of the transfer plans with just one frown.

However, the only thing he requested from the CEO and football director was to complete the reinforcement of players before the summer pre-season begins.

And the last remaining spot, the starting-level goalkeeper, was a very complex and subtle position to fill, combining the manager’s detailed requirements and Burnley’s transfer market stance.

Considering that goalkeepers reach their prime around the age of 30, they should still be young but have enough experience, and at the same time, have the potential to grow further.

In addition, they had to be similar or superior in skill to Burnley’s Bailey Peacock-Farrell, who would be competing for the starting goalkeeper position next season.

The media was linking all sorts of players’ names, but Burnley’s list of goalkeeper candidates was short and concise.

Young players such as Illan Meslier, the next starting goalkeeper for the French national team that Leeds is proud of, or Anatoliy Trubin, the starting goalkeeper for the Ukrainian national team that Shakhtar Donetsk is proud of, were not even on the list due to their expensive transfer fees.

Even when he saw the rumors with PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was on the list simply because he was only 24 years old, he could only laugh in vain.

Burnley’s total weekly wage budget is £1.1 million, so how can they sign a player who receives £220,000 a week on his own?

Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao, who has established himself as the starting goalkeeper for the Spanish national team, Alexander Nübel, who is being groomed as Manuel Neuer’s successor at Bayern Munich, and Dean Henderson, who is having a tough battle for the starting position with David de Gea at Manchester United, were all eliminated because they could not afford either the transfer fee or the weekly wage.

Rather, as the indifferent commentator said, unexpected names were on Burnley’s list.

Maarten Vandevoordt, a 21-year-old young goalkeeper of Belgian nationality who is causing a sensation at Genk in the Belgian Jupiler League.

Pontus Dahlberg, a 24-year-old goalkeeper who showed outstanding performance last season and rose to become the starting goalkeeper for the Swedish national team after breaking through as a starter at Watford, which was relegated to the English Championship after a long period of loan spells and reserve life.

And Caoimhin Kelleher, a 24-year-old Irish national team starting goalkeeper who is rapidly growing by showing excellent skills every time he is given the opportunity as a second goalkeeper under Alisson, the world-class goalkeeper that Liverpool is proud of, without being overshadowed by him.

However, each had its drawbacks.

Maarten Vandevoordt, who had been on a roll since he was young, taking the starting position in the first team at the young age of 18, but conversely, had not experienced the big mistakes that all goalkeepers inevitably face and the extreme pressure that comes with them.

Pontus Dahlberg, whose footwork such as speed and passing is lacking compared to his excellent shot-stopping ability.

And Liverpool, who do not want to sell players to league rivals, and Caoimhin Kelleher, who has not yet gained enough experience through many games under Alisson’s shadow.

It was a list that had been narrowed down with hundreds of scout reports with Hyungmin and Carolina, but the target that met the conditions desired by the manager ultimately came down to one person.

Jonathan, who had been staring at his phone for a long time, finally picked up his phone again and started searching for the phone number of a difficult opponent he never wanted to deal with in the transfer market.

“…W··· X··· Y··· Here it is. Z.”

At the end of the alphabet, which had been going down for a long time, was the name he was looking for.

Zamagna, Gabriel.

He was Atalanta’s football director, one of the best deal-makers in Serie A (the top professional football division of the Italian football league system).

“Hello, Gabriel.”

“Oh? Jonathan, what’s going on?”

The voice coming from the phone was energetic and mischievous.

“You know exactly what I want.”

“That’s right, that’s right. But shouldn’t there be some back-and-forth in this kind of thing? Or is life too harsh?”

*Can’t we just live harshly? While you’re at it, can you lower the transfer fee a bit?*

He was a promising player who was not even a starter for the team at Atalanta, but no matter how much he thought about it, this was the only player who met both the conditions desired by the manager and the standards set by the club.

Jonathan Landris squeezed his eyes shut and uttered the name the other party wanted.

***

“Who the hell is Marco Carnesecchi?!”

The next day.

All sports media were turned upside down by a short announcement issued jointly by Burnley Football Club of the English Premier League and Atalanta Calcio of the Italian Serie A.

[Atalanta Calcio goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi will join Burnley of the English Premier League for a transfer fee of £16 million. We wish the player all the best in the future.]

Reporters and commentators who searched for data wore desperate expressions.

Of Italian nationality, 23 years old this year.

He came from the Atalanta youth academy and had been on loan in Serie B (the second-highest division in the Italian football league system) since the 2019/20 season, and last season he only made one appearance as Atalanta’s backup goalkeeper.

Okay, well, he played 55 games for Serie B Cremonese for two seasons, so he has gained quite a bit of game experience for a promising goalkeeper.

He also played 23 games for the Italian U-21 national team, so he must have potential.

But why on earth?

It was impossible to know why he recorded the highest transfer fee of £16 million among the many players Burnley signed this season.

It was only the beginning of June, so it couldn’t be said that they made a panic buy at the end of the transfer market.

Some media outlets hastily assessed that Manchester United’s Amad Diallo, who had not yet joined the first team in earnest, was followed by another Premier League club being ripped off by Atalanta, but most shook their heads.

Manchester United is still wandering around without deciding on the transfer market policy or the direction of the team, but the direction Burnley has shown in the transfer market for the past two seasons has been like a knife.

CEO Helena Cartwright, who is considered the worst negotiating opponent, football director Jonathan Landris, who is considered a talent scout, and Hyungmin Kim, who is proving to be the best manager among young managers, approved such a foolish deal?

While Burnley’s press officer, Celli Piper, was seriously considering submitting her resignation again today due to the flood of calls and inquiries, Burnley, who had completed the transfer and acquisition of players in all positions, declared a business suspension in the summer transfer market just two weeks after the season ended.

Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]

Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]

프리미어 리그의 최연소 감독이 되었다
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In the heart of England's northwest, a Premier League club teeters on the brink of collapse. When their coach resigns amidst financial ruin, all eyes turn to an unlikely savior: a rookie youth coach. Thrust into the spotlight, he's given an impossible task: lead the first team for the opening match. Doubt clouds his mind, but destiny calls. Witness the meteoric rise of an interim coach who defies expectations, battles adversity, and rewrites the rules of the game. Can he transform a team on the verge of collapse into champions? Dive into a world of high-stakes soccer, where passion, strategy, and unwavering determination collide. Experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in this gripping tale of ambition and triumph.

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