Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 192

192. Golden Boy

In the week following the meeting between Burnley’s Football Director Jonathan Landris, Sebastian Szymanski’s agent Lamberts Löfski, and Burnley’s press officer Shelley Piper, news of new contracts was announced almost daily.

Because the timing of the announcements had to be coordinated internally, the first news released after discussions with agents and players was the contract renewal of Dwight McNeil, a youth academy product and a local favorite.

As fans cheered the news that McNeil had signed a 5-year contract with a wage increase from £70,000 to £100,000, making him the highest-paid player on the team, a series of contract renewals were announced.

After joining Burnley on loan from RB Salzburg in the 2021/22 season and completing a permanent transfer in the summer of 2022, captain Nicolas Seiwald signed a 5-year contract extension in just one and a half seasons, raising his weekly wage from £80,000 to £100,000.

Sebastian Szymanski, who joined Burnley in the summer transfer market of 2022, also signed a 5-year contract with a significant wage increase, jumping from £60,000 to £100,000 in just one and a half seasons.

By securing the team’s local star, captain, and key midfielder with 5-year contracts, Burnley ensured that the core of the team would remain intact until 2028.

In addition, Jamal Lewis, who had established himself as a reliable attacking option after transitioning to a left-wing attacker, Anel Ahmedhodžić, a cornerstone of the defense, and Tommaso Pobega, a versatile midfielder, also renewed their contracts with modest wage increases.

Most contracts were structured for either 5 years or 4 years + 1 year, providing young prospects with ample time to develop within the team or ensuring a substantial transfer fee upon their eventual sale.

However, while negotiations for a contract renewal with Guðmundur Guðmundsson, an important attacking outlet known for his brilliant crosses and solid defense on the right flank, progressed slowly, Benjamin Šeško, who was captivating Europe with his explosive scoring ability, became the next contract renewal priority.

***

“I’ll just take whatever you offer.”

“Hmm…”

Jonathan Landris frowned, studying the agent’s face after hearing Benjamin Šeško’s words. Šeško had arrived with his agent, Marcus Pacher.

Marcus Pacher, the head of Slovenia’s largest football agency, PRO Transfer, simply shrugged.

“He just said he finds the process annoying.”

“I was worried Marcus might say something different, so I came with him.”

“Benjamin…”

Marcus Pacher sighed deeply.

He felt less offended by his young client’s distrust and more like an uncle watching his nephew, who refuses to believe that all the toys are sold out, follow him to the toy store.

“Anyway, I love living here. I enjoy training with Lorenzo, and I enjoy learning from the manager, Coach Tae-jin, and Coach Carolina. Physical training is…”

The young player, only 20 years old, continued to speak his mind, stumbling slightly over his words but quickly recovering.

“…It’s tough, but I think it’s rewarding!”

“Oh, okay. I won’t mention that to Paulo [Burnley’s fitness coach].”

*And Tae-jin’s name came out before Carolina’s, but I won’t mention that either.*

Jonathan Landris, suppressing a sigh and a chuckle, glanced at Marcus Pacher, whose eyes sparkled as he struggled to contain his laughter next to Benjamin Šeško.

*Isn’t he cute?*

*Look, I see him every day.*

“Anyway! I’ll just take whatever you offer.”

Benjamin Šeško, looking back and forth between the two men who were at least twice his age, concluded his statement, which he must have practiced in front of the mirror for a long time.

Various responses, from serious to humorous, flashed through Jonathan’s mind, but despite Marcus Pacher’s desperate head-shaking, Jonathan couldn’t resist teasing the young prospect.

“…But we weren’t planning on offering a contract renewal this time?”

“…Pardon?”

Faced with a bewildered Benjamin Šeško, the two middle-aged men finally erupted in laughter that they had been trying to suppress.

Jonathan Landris, seeing Benjamin’s slightly crestfallen expression, quickly salvaged the situation and handed the prepared proposal to the two men.

“First of all, I want to offer a wage increase to £70,000 per week, and a contract of 4 years + 1 year.”

“Why 4 years + 1 year? Can’t I renew for 5 years?”

At Benjamin’s question, delivered with crossed arms as if dissatisfied, the two middle-aged men sighed in unison.

“Benjamin, this is like a stepping stone for the next wage negotiation. After 4 years, you’ll be 24 years old. As a striker, that’s when you’re just reaching your prime. Of course, we won’t just wait and rely on the extension, so we’ll start contract negotiations before that.”

Jonathan Landris began to explain to the young prospect, step by step.

*Of course, he omitted the words, ‘Unless someone comes along with crazy money and snatches you away.’*

“So, from our perspective, we’ll start contract negotiations 3 years after the official contract period has 1 year left. If the negotiations take a little longer, we’ll activate the extension, and if a new contract is agreed upon, we’ll replace it with that.”

“Ah, I see.”

The young striker, looking enlightened, unfolded his arms.

“Then where do I sign?”

“Haa…”

The two middle-aged men sighed again.

“Well, first, discuss the terms with your agent…”

“…Marcus has agreed to agree to the contract as I want…”

“…And then sign the contract! Don’t just sign any paper that someone gives you, you little rascal!”

Jonathan Landris finally scolded the imposing prospect, who was about 20 centimeters taller than both of them.

As a sheepish Benjamin Šeško and a grateful Marcus Pacher looked on, Jonathan Landris opened the water bottle on the desk and took a long gulp. Meanwhile, Benjamin Šeško, seemingly unfazed by the reprimand, tilted his head inquisitively.

“…But you told me to always sign autographs if the fans ask for them.”

“Pfft!”

It had been a long week of endless negotiations and renegotiations, but Jonathan Landris congratulated himself that managing to spit the water he was drinking onto the carpet instead of the faces of the two people sitting across from him was the most impressive feat he had accomplished during that period.

That is, after he had sputtered out all the mineral water from his trachea while Marcus Pacher vigorously patted him on the back.

***

The day after Burnley’s official press release announcing the 4-year + 1-year contract renewal with Benjamin Šeško after much deliberation, new news dominated the front pages of sports newspapers across Europe.

The European Golden Boy award, established in 2003 by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport,

selects the most outstanding player under the age of 21 each year. Leading media outlets in the European sports world participate in the voting process.

Tuttosport (Italy), Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), Abola (Portugal), L’Equipe and France Football (France), Marca and Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Tanea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), and The Times (United Kingdom) all participate.

The award, determined by aggregating scores from these 12 major and prestigious media outlets across Europe, who rank players from 1st to 5th place, has a strong track record of identifying talents who are making a significant impact on European football.

Starting with Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands), the first winner in 2003, followed by Wayne Rooney (2004), Lionel Messi (2005), Sergio Agüero (2007), Paul Pogba (2013), Kylian Mbappé (2017), Erling Haaland (2020), and Pedri (2021), the award has consistently recognized promising players who have dominated or are expected to dominate their era.

Of course, there have been exceptions, such as Manchester United’s prospect Anderson (2008) and Inter Milan and Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli (2010), who failed to fully realize their potential and faded away.

There were also cases like Alexandre Pato (AC Milan, 2009) and Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund, 2011), who were unable to reach their full potential due to injuries.

Critics and fans are still reserving their final judgment on players like Anthony Martial (Monaco and Manchester United, 2015), Renato Sanches (Benfica and Bayern Munich, 2016), and João Félix (Benfica and Atlético Madrid, 2019).

However, it remains the most prestigious individual award a football prospect under the age of 21 can receive.

In 1997, the legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo demonstrated that age and established success weren’t always necessary when he won the Ballon d’Or [an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football] at the young age of 21 while playing for Inter Milan, but the Golden Boy award didn’t exist at the time, making it an exception.

Regardless, the news that a Burnley player had won an individual award created a festive atmosphere at the Banfield Training Center, and one person breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest.

“Isn’t Jonathan happy?”

In response to the club CEO’s question, Jonathan Landris, who had finalized the contract renewal with Benjamin Šeško two days prior amidst much fanfare, shook his head.

“I’m happy. I’m really happy. But what I’m most happy about is that we finalized the contract renewal before he won the Golden Boy award.”

Helena chuckled at Jonathan Landris’s relieved words.

“I heard from Hyung-min [likely a reference to Son Heung-min, a famous South Korean footballer, implying a connection or inside information] that Benjamin doesn’t care about the amount.”

“Still, that’s not the point. He won the Golden Boy award, so we have to protect his status. It’s also annoying to deal with media criticism for mistreating him.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Helena nodded in agreement with Jonathan Landris’s explanation.

“Then, can I assume that the new wage system will proceed as you reported?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The new wage system.

It was the moment they abandoned the £1.2 million wage budget limit that Mike Garlick had fiercely defended during his tenure as owner of Burnley Football Club.

Whether this would prove to be a step forward or a step backward remained to be seen, but Burnley Football Club now possessed sufficient financial flexibility to accommodate the changed system.

“Then, I’ll confirm the total budget at £1.5 million as I said.”

“Thank you.”

Of course, they hadn’t yet spent the entire £1.5 million.

The average weekly wage of Burnley’s first team still hovered around £60,000.

However, it was clear that the surplus would soon be allocated as Anselmo Garcia McNulty and Christian Medina, who received slightly higher wages than reserve team players, and Oscar Mingueza, a free spirit who accepted a lower wage despite his free transfer, became more integrated into the team.

“So, an additional budget of £300,000 is spent every week… that’s roughly £15 million per season. And since appearance fees and bonuses typically add about 50%, we can assume an additional operating cost of about £23 million overall.”

Until now, Burnley’s operating cost for one season had been around £120 million.

Of course, this excluded the cost of signing players.

With the jump from £120 million to £140 million, costs increased by 17%.

The faces of those attending the core management meeting were serious, but Helena shrugged.

“Well, that’s a level we can afford. We’ll be earning an additional £70 million from New Turf Moor [Burnley’s stadium] alone. Still, we need to manage this carefully.”

Helena looked at the data appearing on her laptop.

“We can’t give away the naming rights to New Turf Moor for a cheap price.”