Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 169

169. Injury Curse

An emergency meeting was held with the CEO, Football Director, Manager, and Head Coach.

[…Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time left in the transfer market. Of course, opposing clubs might come on strong knowing we’re looking to reinforce the injured player, but conversely, they also know Adam will be back in six months, so we’re not in a position to be unilaterally led around.]

Hyeongmin, who had been pondering Jonathan’s explanation, asked in return,

“Isn’t not signing anyone at all an option?”

Before Jonathan on the monitor could answer, Carolina, sitting next to him, shook her head firmly.

“I’m against it. Our squad is already thin. At the end of last season, we forced Jamal up to stop the leaks because there weren’t many games left, but the season hasn’t even started yet. We have the Premier League, the Carabao Cup [a domestic English football cup competition], and the Champions League to play.”

“What about the players in the reserve team?”

Three of Burnley’s key executives in charge of football all shook their heads at Helena’s question.

“The forwards are still…”

As Carolina trailed off, Jonathan added,

[…Collin McDonald looks like he has the most potential, but he’s only 17. He’s just moved up from the youth team to the reserve team, and bringing him up to the first team could ruin him.]

“I see.”

As Helena, convinced, bit her lip, Hyeongmin asked,

“What about loans?”

[…]

Jonathan shook his head from across the monitor.

“Premier League clubs with promising players who are good enough to play for Burnley don’t loan them to Burnley anymore.

So, we have to turn our eyes to Europe, but even then, there aren’t even 10 clubs that would leave promising players with Champions League-level skills on the bench.”

As soon as he heard the news, Jonathan, who had been checking the scout reports and current status that Burnley had built up, denied it.

Hyeongmin, who had been agonizing over it, raised his head as if he had made up his mind.

“We have no choice. I’m sorry to Adam, but we’ll have to proceed with additional signings. After Adam returns…”

“…After?”

Helena asked, noticing the manager’s unreadable expression, and Carolina shrugged beside her.

“There’s going to be a real bloodbath for the starting spots.”

There are many disadvantages to running a small squad, but the clear advantage is that players get a fair share of playing time.

However, from the second half of this season, it seemed unlikely that Burnley’s wingers would be afforded such a luxurious situation.

[…Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Someone might transfer in the winter transfer market.]

“I understand. So, is the target set?”

Jonathan shrugged at Helena’s question.

[…The list is always ready. But there’s some bad news.]

“Tell me.”

Jonathan frowned at Hyeongmin’s answer.

“First of all, Yusuf Demir’s transfer to PSG [Paris Saint-Germain, a French football club] has been announced.”

The 20-year-old Austrian winger from Rapid Vienna, who had been at the top of the right-wing forward shortlist, was taken by PSG, who missed out on Karim Adeyemi.

“And Thiago Almada has accepted West Ham’s offer. I heard they’re waiting for a work permit, so it’ll be difficult for us to hijack him.”

The 22-year-old versatile attacking midfielder and forward from Argentina’s prestigious Velez youth academy, who had been playing for Atlanta United in the American MLS [Major League Soccer], confirmed his transfer to West Ham, one of the Premier League’s rival teams.

Hyeongmin, who heard the news from the Football Director, shrugged.

“We can’t help it. Then who’s the third choice…”

“Yeah. Angelo.”

Angelo, full name Angelo Gabriel Borges Damaceno.

A rising star from Brazil’s prestigious Santos youth academy who took the Brazilian Serie A [Brazilian top-flight football league] by storm at just 18 years old.

In the 2021 season, he played in 29 games, scoring 7 goals and 2 assists, and then in the 2022 season, he played in a whopping 42 games, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists, leading Santos to victory.

The prevailing opinion was that he was a cut above Caio Jorge, who had transferred to Juventus [an Italian football club] in Italy a few seasons ago from the same Santos.

At 173 centimeters, he was short, but he had explosive speed, flexibility, and stamina from his solid 71-kilogram frame, as well as the flashy skills unique to Brazilian players.

Helena’s expression was puzzled after hearing the explanation up to that point.

“But why…?”

“Why does everyone look so bad? It’s obvious that the agent and the player’s demands are going to be really tough.”

Hyeongmin explained on behalf of Jonathan and Carolina.

Helena frowned and shuddered as if she remembered having a real fight with Brazilian government officials.

“I know exactly what that feels like.”

[…Well, still, the buyout for overseas clubs is only 18 million pounds, so we should at least give it a shot.]

As Jonathan said from across the monitor, Helena sighed deeply.

“If it’s the Brazilian-style negotiation I know, it’s better to think about the next target in advance.”

***

The next day, at the same time.

Three of the four people who reopened the video conference in the same place had the same expression on their faces.

“…How much did they ask for?”

Carolina, stammering as if she couldn’t believe it, was given the number again by Jonathan on the monitor, who had exhausted all his embarrassment with a hollow expression.

[…They want 150,000 pounds a week.]

“Not 50,000 pounds, not 100,000 pounds, but 150,000 pounds?! Are they thinking we’re Real Madrid [a Spanish football club] or something?!”

Carolina was shocked.

With Karim Adeyemi and a large number of veterans transferring, Burnley’s highest weekly wage was 80,000 pounds, which was being received by Nicolas Seiwald, who had renewed his contract in the summer.

It was a weekly wage set in consideration of his status as the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League, his role as captain from this season, and the removal of the existing buyout clause.

Next was Dwight McNeil, a franchise star who came from Burnley’s youth academy and was cherished by the fans, at 70,000 pounds.

Cristian Medina, who had not yet escaped his status as a promising player, and Anselmo Garcia McNulty, who had been on loan until the previous season, were earning less than 10,000 pounds a week.

Jonathan burst into hollow laughter from across the monitor.

[…They don’t even want to negotiate. They seem to think that Real Madrid or Barcelona [another Spanish football club] will make an offer at any time.]

It wasn’t thought that his skills had been proven to that extent yet, but since the agent firmly believed so, there was no point in saying anything more.

“What’s the next in line?”

Jonathan made a painful expression at Helena’s question.

[…It’s a bit complicated from then on.]

Hyeongmin, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, buried his face in his hands and groaned in agony.

The Football Director, who had already had enough time to express his pain alone, calmly explained to the CEO, who was looking at the manager with a puzzled expression.

[…In this situation, we should either turn Dwight to the right and sign the first-choice left winger, or bring up Sebastian and reinforce the midfield.]

Adam Hlozek, who was the first choice, and Keane Lewis-Potter, who was the second choice, had already been signed.

Then the list from the third to the fifth choice was all gone.

Even if Jonathan had prepared well as usual, he couldn’t help but lose confidence when it came to the sixth-choice signing target in the same position.

Moreover, this wasn’t a game, and you couldn’t just sign anyone you wanted if you had money.

If that were the case, Newcastle or PSG would have bought all the players.

Even Burnley wasn’t a club that spent money like that.

From Jonathan’s point of view, who was focused on signing promising players selected through in-depth research at the optimal price to maximize profits, signing just anyone because he was in a hurry was a problem that violated both his philosophy and his pride, regardless of its effectiveness.

[…The sixth choice is Francisco Conceição from Porto’s [a Portuguese football club] youth academy, but…]

“…But?”

[…He’s still very lacking.]

Jonathan explained that his technique was excellent, but he still lacked the ability to utilize his teammates or teamwork, and he wasn’t sure if he could survive in the Premier League physically.

[…What do you want to do?]

Jonathan, who had finished explaining to Helena, asked Hyeongmin, who was immersed in thought with a gloomy expression.

“Just a little… Please give me a little time to think.”

The other three people who attended the meeting exchanged glances at the manager’s words, who had been hesitating for a long time.

[…Well, there’s still a month and a half left in the transfer market. Think about it enough for now. Adam hasn’t had his final diagnosis yet, so we need to check the results of that too.]

Even though the recovery period wasn’t likely to suddenly shorten to a month or two, Hyeongmin gave a faint smile at the Football Director’s words, who was trying to comfort the manager.

“Thank you, Jonathan. Let’s think about it for another day or two.”

***

The next day, at the same time.

Only a light practice game was in progress, but this time, the player who had made the tackle was clutching his leg and complaining of pain.

“…A fracture? Ahaha…”

Hyeongmin let out a hollow laugh.

Even though the situation was what it was, no one could blame the manager, who covered his face in disbelief and sat down on the grass.

The same position, the same newly signed player.

Burnley’s injury curse began with Burnley’s right winger backup, Keane Lewis-Potter, suffering a three-month fracture.

In conclusion, right winger Adam Hlozek broke his left leg and was out for at least 3 months and up to 5 months due to injury.

Keane Lewis-Potter, also a right winger, was out for at least 2 months and up to 3 months due to a fracture in his left leg.

Central midfielder Sebastian Szymanski was out for at least 2 months and up to 3 months due to a hip joint injury.

Central striker Benjamin Sesko was out for at least 4 weeks and up to 6 weeks due to a knee injury.

Hyeongmin, who received the final list of injured players, covered his face without saying a word.

Three of the starting players, and the entire right wing, were wiped out.

Adam Hlozek and Keane Lewis-Potter could be said to have been unlucky with their fractures, but it couldn’t be said that the muscle injuries suffered by Sebastian Szymanski and Benjamin Sesko were not due to accumulated fatigue from last season to some extent.

With fitness coach Paulo Morais and team doctor Simon Morris sitting on one side of the conference room table with a somber expression of feeling responsible, Football Director Jonathan Landris, who was attending the meeting via video conference, cautiously opened his mouth.

[…I know everyone is having a hard time, but now is the time to quickly find an alternative.]

At Jonathan’s words, Hyeongmin, who had been burying his face in his hands for a long time, raised his face with a tired expression.

“Haa… Yes. We need to find an alternative.”

[…What do you want to do?]

Hyeongmin looked back and forth between Jonathan across the screen and Helena sitting on one side of the table.

“Is there enough transfer money?”

[…Well, I can’t sign Kylian Mbappe [a famous French football player] for you.]

The coaches smiled slightly at Jonathan’s joke.

[…But if it’s not that level, most players are within range.]

A whopping 160 million pounds of unused transfer budget was still lying dormant in the account.

The budget that was not used until the end would be returned to the main account after the summer transfer market closed and used for stadium construction or other purposes, but at the current point in time, Burnley had a huge budget in its hands that ranked in the top 20 across Europe.

“First of all, since this is a signing due to a long-term injury rather than a transfer, I don’t think we need to break the existing signing policy. And I think it would be good to refer to the existing signing list without proceeding indiscriminately with the signing targets.”

[…Okay. Then how do you want to proceed?]

Hyeongmin sighed.

“Now that things have turned out this way, I don’t think we need to be tied to the positions of each player that we thought about before the season started. I can explain it to the players who are affected, so I think it would be good to sign the two players with the highest ranking across the attacking line. One winger, and if possible, one more central striker.”

Jonathan Landris, who had been immersed in thought at the manager’s words, nodded from across the screen.

[…Okay. Are there any other positions that need reinforcement?]

“The rest should be fine.”

Basically, they have quite a few defenders who can play in various positions, so the defense doesn’t need much reinforcement, and the midfield can also handle each other’s positions to some extent.

The Football Director, who was asked to reinforce the attack, nodded.

They were players who were planning to sign not this season but next season, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing to sign them a season earlier.

The transfer budget is also abundant, and although it’s due to injuries, they’ll be able to share playing time to some extent.

Of course, things could get incredibly complicated after the 2023/24 season ends and the 2024/25 season begins.

[…Then I’ll proceed that way.]

“Thank you, Jonathan.”

[…No, don’t mention it. I’ll contact you from time to time about the progress.]

As the screen turned dark, Hyeongmin looked at his coaching staff sitting in the conference room.

“We’ve been too lucky all this time.”

During the past two seasons, there were almost no players who suffered major injuries that took more than a month to recover.

It was a bit scary at the end of last season, but Karim Adeyemi and Max Cornet returned faster than expected and were able to help in the Europa League final.

Fitness coach Paulo Morais, who was leaning forward as if he was about to get up from his seat with an expression that seemed to blame himself, opened his mouth, but Hyeongmin raised one hand to stop him and continued softly.

“So, think of this as a rebound from being lucky all this time. I think we were lucky that this incident happened during the pre-season rather than during the season. Anyway, we can at least reinforce.”

“Well, it’s impossible to completely control injuries anyway.”

As head coach Carolina supported the manager’s remarks, the Portuguese coach, who seemed to want to say something, leaned back in his chair with a long sigh.

“Okay, the important thing is to finish the pre-season preparations well from now on. The Euro Super Cup is less than a month away.”