Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 52

52: The Beginning of a Leap

With Nico Gonzalez single-handedly managing both defense and attack from the center, Burnley’s five players—Maxwel Cornet, Hannibal Mejbri, Jay Rodriguez, Jacob Ramsey, and Johann Berg Guðmundsson—lined up almost in a straight line from the right, relentlessly attacking Cambridge’s goal.

After a few ambitious attacks early on led directly to counterattacks, the Cambridge players were increasingly pushed back into their own half.

With five teammates pressing the opponent’s attack from the front, Burnley’s defense, comfortably positioned in the back, could easily supply the ball forward through Nico Gonzalez, who played as a defensive midfielder.

“That kid is something else.”

Arthur admired Nico Gonzalez as he elegantly threaded passes into the gaps in the opponent’s formation.

Although he had less activity and pressing ability than Nicolas Seiwald, in terms of orchestrating attacks, he was similar to or even better than Josh Brownhill, who had been Burnley’s midfield commander.

“Barcelona must be full of monsters like that, right? And he’s not even 20 yet.”

“Well, Messi debuted at 16, and Nico debuted at 17, so… he’s quite special.”

Arthur clicked his tongue at Hyungmin’s words.

“Haa… Raising kids like that must be nerve-wracking for youth coaches. If I make a mistake, I could ruin a world-class star.”

“Well… that’s true. In the end, I think all you can do is your best. Besides the coaches, there are so many hurdles before youth players are fully developed.”

Hyungmin, who had been a youth coach at RB Salzburg, which boasts a world-class youth system, agreed with Arthur, who had decades of experience in developing young players.

Many factors come into play before a youth player establishes themselves as a professional.

Most fundamentally, the player’s individual skill must be exceptional.

They must develop physically to withstand the rigors of professional football—not just in height, but also in terms of stamina and strength—and avoid serious injuries that could end their career.

In addition, it’s crucial to gain enough experience to survive in the professional arena by playing a sufficient number of games in the right positions during their late teens. This ensures they aren’t left behind when given a chance in the first team and can earn further opportunities.

Even if they possess sufficient ability in their position, the club might sign a more expensive and experienced player in the same role, leading them to spend most of their time on the bench.

There are also quite a few players who are hailed as generational talents in youth and reserve teams but disappear without ever making a significant debut in the first team.

And then, they must resist the relentless attention of the media and other temptations, such as partying or unhealthy relationships, that come with being a promising prospect.

In the end, a professional football player’s journey is one where they achieve a measurable level of success only when their skill, effort, genetic factors, luck, and the mental fortitude to sustain it all for 10-15 years all align.

So, Burnley’s young manager and experienced assistant coach were both pleased and slightly envious when looking at a talent like Nico Gonzalez.

“It would be great if we could develop players like that too…”

“Still, there’s Dwight McNeil… and didn’t Danny Ings also come through Burnley?”

“Danny was actually developed at Southampton and Bournemouth. He was already quite polished when Eddie Howe brought him in, and he played almost exclusively in the first team.”

“Ah, I see.”

As the manager and assistant coach continued their conversation, Burnley’s players thwarted Cambridge’s ambitious counterattacks and initiated another attack.

Twenty-five minutes into the first half.

When the ball was passed to Johann Berg Guðmundsson, Burnley’s left winger who had scored the opening goal, Cambridge’s defense temporarily shifted towards him.

The veteran Icelandic winger, positioned wide near the sideline, waited until Cambridge’s right defender, George Williams, and central defender, Jubril Okedina, were somewhat drawn to him before passing the ball infield.

Jacob Ramsey, the midfielder positioned in the left gap between Burnley’s three attackers, received the ball right next to Guðmundsson.

“Max!”

The young loanee, who had been getting more playing time recently and was starting to mature, confidently flicked the ball to Maxwel Cornet, who was waiting on the opposite sideline.

Before Cambridge’s defense and midfielders, who had shifted to the right, could reorganize, Maxwel Cornet, receiving the ball on the left side of the defense, immediately attempted a dribbling breakthrough into the penalty box.

Conversely, Jay Rodriguez, Burnley’s central striker, and Hannibal Mejbri, the midfielder, who had already penetrated into the penalty box, stepped back, forcing the defenders marking them to make a difficult choice.

Should they follow the opposing players they were already tracking to prevent mid-range shots, or should they stay in the penalty box and stop Maxwel Cornet’s breakthrough?

Hesitating at the sudden movement of the opposing team, the two defenders made the worst possible decision: one stayed, and one followed.

The confusion stemmed from the clash between the Cambridge manager and players’ desire to attack and the current situation of being pushed into a defensive position.

In a situation where they could neither block mid-range shots nor stop dribbling breakthroughs, Cambridge’s goalkeeper, William Mannion, turned pale.

“Stop the breakthrough first!”

The midfielders can block the mid-range shots!

The moment Cambridge’s central defender, Jack Iredale, who understood the goalkeeper’s unspoken plea, desperately tried to overcome his inertia and return to the penalty box…

Maxwel Cornet, who easily shrugged off Cambridge’s left defender, Harrison Dunk, who was rushing towards him, sent a low, fast cross across the face of the goal.

“Johann!”

The target of the ball was Johann Berg Guðmundsson, Burnley’s left winger, who had initiated the attack with the first pass and was subtly rushing in from the opposite side of the penalty box.

The veteran attacker, sprinting into the penalty box at full speed, his short-cut blonde hair flying, finished with a simple shot, guiding the ball into the net with the inside of his right foot.

“Uwaaa!!!”

As Burnley fans who had traveled to the away game cheered, the Icelandic attacker, who scored his second goal of the day, clenched his fist and roared.

***

Find a striker!

This was the top priority occupying the mind of Burnley’s technical director, Jonathan Landris, recently.

With Chris Wood’s sudden transfer finalized a few days ago, it was essential to sign a replacement to fill the void.

Moreover, Ashley Barnes, the existing backup striker, was also likely to leave the team in this winter transfer market.

Jonathan was essentially faced with the task of filling the void left by two strikers while simultaneously protecting the £25 million he would receive from Chris Wood’s transfer fee from opposing teams, who would undoubtedly try to exploit the situation.

A scouting meeting for this purpose was being held at the Barnfield Training Centre today.

“I’ve narrowed down the candidates to this extent for now.”

Jonathan displayed the data on a large screen for Hyungmin and Arthur, who were sitting and listening attentively.

“Of course, our scouting data doesn’t contain many players ready to contribute immediately. So, when you narrow it down to players who can actually be integrated into the team right away, there are only this many. First, there’s Blackburn’s Ben Brereton Diaz. You’re all familiar with him, right?”

“Ben10!”

Hyungmin replied with a chuckle.

Ben Brereton Diaz was born and raised in England.

But fate is often strange. Chile fans of a certain football simulation game discovered that he, who had played for the England national team at the under-19 and under-20 levels, was eligible to be called up to the Chile national team, his mother’s home country, and began petitioning the Chilean Football Federation to select him.

Eventually, the Chilean Football Association persuaded Ben Brereton Diaz, who had never visited Chile in his life, to join the Chilean national team in May 2021.

With the existing attackers such as Inter Milan’s Alexis Sanchez and Atletico Mineiro’s Eduardo Vargas aging, the Chilean Football Association needed a replacement.

Ben Brereton Diaz, realizing that it would be difficult to break into the England national team with so many talented attackers, wanted to participate in international matches at the senior level.

The combination of these two factors led Ben Brereton Diaz to make his national team debut in the South American World Cup qualifiers and participate in the Copa America [South American equivalent of the European Championship] held in the summer of 2021.

And in his first start, he scored the debut goal and the winning goal against Bolivia, becoming an overnight star in Chile.

The nickname that Chilean fans gave him by combining his jersey number and the name of a children’s cartoon character was Ben10.

However, what was important to Hyungmin and Burnley was not this fairy tale, but a much more practical consideration.

“So, how much is the transfer fee they’re asking for?”

“Um… that’s…”

With his high-quality finishing, having scored 6 goals in 10 games in the Championship [English second-tier league], and his marketability…

The £20 million that Blackburn Rovers were demanding was not an amount that Burnley could readily accept.

“What’s next?”

“Sparta Prague’s Adam Hložek.”

On the screen appeared a young player with short black hair neatly parted in an 8:2 ratio.

“He can play as a center forward and on both left and right wings, debuted in Sparta Prague’s first team at the age of 16, and has scored 27 goals in 78 games to date. A 19-year-old striker, Ra…”

Hyungmin, reading the evaluation summarized by the scouting team, let out a sigh mixed with regret and admiration.

“He’s someone we’d really want to sign under normal circumstances.”

“That’s right. Under normal circumstances…”

However, Burnley, who were losing their starting center forward, could not risk the team’s fate on another young prospect.

Moreover, from Hyungmin’s perspective, who had been able to rely on Chris Wood for not only movement in the front line but also aerial dominance, he was also uneasy about whether the young Czech striker, who boasted a sturdy physique of 185 centimeters and 85 kilograms, could effectively challenge the Premier League’s central defenders.

“Uh… what about RB Salzburg’s Benjamin Šeško, who we talked about last time?”

“They refused outright, saying they have no intention of selling him during the season.”

Jonathan shook his index finger at the manager, who was about to speak.

“Mark Lang, Salzburg’s technical director, said directly that it’s no use even contacting them about this. He told me not to call.”

“Um…”

Burnley’s young manager, preemptively shut down by his former boss, swallowed his groan.

“So, who are the remaining options?”

“Then finally…”