Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 60

60. Reaching My Prime Again

“So, is Hyungmin’s family still in Korea?”

Hyungmin had finished his dinner, Helena her afternoon snack, and everything was cleaned up.

Outside, the winter sun had completely set, casting the world in darkness. The two of them, the only ones remaining at the Banfield Training Center, were sitting across from each other on the sofa in Hyungmin’s office, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

At Helena’s question, Hyungmin nodded.

“My father is still working. Even if he were to retire, neither of them would be the type to live abroad.”

“But didn’t they come to visit when Hyungmin was working in Austria?”

“They came once… Sightseeing was okay, but the food didn’t suit their taste, and they were counting the days until they could return to Korea.”

“Does Hyungmin visit them often, then?”

At Helena’s question, Hyungmin flinched slightly.

“Ah, did I say something wrong…?”

“No, it’s just that it’s been a while since you’ve visited.”

“How long?”

“Um… about three years?”

Helena gave him an incredulous look, and Hyungmin raised his hand in defense.

“No, there was the COVID issue in between. And being a coach doesn’t mean you have a clearly defined off-season like players do… Actually, I was planning to go to Korea last summer, but I canceled it when I came to Burnley.”

Even to himself, the excuse sounded weak.

Noticing the displeasure on Helena’s face, Hyungmin attempted a counter-attack.

“Helena also said it’s hard to be with family for too long, right?”

“Did I? When did I say that?”

“That was… At the end of last year…!”

Hyungmin couldn’t bring himself to mention the day he got drunk and spilled out all sorts of embarrassing things.

“Well, it’s true that being too close can be hard on family, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay not to see your parents for three years.”

“We video call!”

“Do you initiate the calls?”

“Ah, not really…”

“Hmm…”

Hyungmin couldn’t help but chuckle at Helena’s still dissatisfied response.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

Hyungmin tilted his head, as if he himself found it amusing.

“I’ve realized that I’ve become quite close to Helena at some point. Actually, when I first heard that someone from the Cartwright Fund was coming, I naturally assumed I was going to be fired. There were rumors circulating in the club office that a witch from America was going to get rid of everyone…”

“…Witch?”

“Gasp!”

Hyungmin realized his mistake and covered his mouth, but Helena seemed to be trying to tease him this time, chuckling.

“Witch is fine. I’ve heard much worse in Brazil and Detroit.”

“No one calls Helena a witch anymore! At least not within Burnley Football Club…”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

Feeling like he had dug himself deep enough into a hole, Hyungmin desperately tried to change the subject to avoid burying himself completely.

“Doesn’t Helena go to see her family?”

“Hmm… When the club is a bit more stable? I heard there aren’t many games or big events in March, so I’m thinking of going around then.”

“Ah, I see. Is there anyone else besides family? Like a boyfriend?”

“I had a fiancé, but we broke up.”

“…!”

Hyungmin couldn’t hide his bewildered expression at Helena’s sudden statement.

*Has the time come to close the coffin myself, now that I’ve dug the hole deep enough?*

Helena chuckled at the young manager’s despairing face after his series of slip-ups.

“You don’t have to make that face. It’s already in the past.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to touch on a painful wound…”

“It’s okay, I said.”

Helena sighed.

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

At Helena’s words, Hyungmin shook his head.

“The last time you said something wasn’t a big deal, it was actually a huge deal.”

“Which…? Ah, that Brazil mine story? Empresa de Mineracao Amazonica [Amazon Mining Company].”

“Um… I didn’t know the name, but it’s the mine in the Amazon, right?”

Helena shrugged.

“That had some great lessons, but this doesn’t. Ah, but it’s a bit hard to talk without alcohol.”

Helena, who looked like she was craving a drink after eating, continued her story while smiling at Hyungmin’s face, which now looked dazed.

“John was a family friend since we were young. He was also Third’s close friend.”

At Hyungmin’s puzzled expression, Helena added an explanation.

“Third is my older brother. My grandfather is Ian Cartwright, my father is Ian Cartwright Jr., and my brother is Ian Cartwright III. We just call him Third. He really hates us calling him that.”

“We call him that more because he hates it,” Helena giggled.

“Anyway, he was my first love. John was tall, handsome, and unlike Third, he was gentle with girls. So he was popular with other girls too, and I was desperate. But somehow, we went to the same university, and using our long friendship as an excuse, we kept spending time together, and we started dating in our third year of college.”

“And then?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, I told you. John’s family was a famous legal family. They were all lawyers, district attorneys, or involved in politics or the legal field. They all had careers like that. Just like my family maintains a business in the financial world.”

Because the families were close, the family status matched, and above all, the two liked each other, everyone happily congratulated their engagement, Helena explained.

“At first, it was okay because we loved each other even though we were busy. But as soon as I graduated from college, I disappeared into the middle of the Amazon for my first project, where I could barely get a satellite connection… We were both young, so we expected a lot from each other. I could easily see when I was having a hard time, but I couldn’t see when the other person was having a hard time.”

“I see.”

“But it was okay when I first came back from Brazil… And even after that, I often went on business trips to other cities or even across the globe for weeks or months, and John was alone in New York, working all night. We grew further and further apart. We fought often.”

When Helena said they fought, Hyungmin raised an eyebrow, and Helena pretended to throw the paper cup she was holding.

“I don’t fight with my family every day! Anyway… The final blow was when I went to Detroit a few years ago. I was excited to be able to unleash what I had learned in Brazil, and I was immersed in my work, but it wasn’t the same for John.”

Helena shrugged.

“In the end, we realized that the problem wasn’t the physical distance, but the time and attention, and then one day, the relationship just ended. We didn’t fight about anything, there wasn’t any particular reason… We just both realized that this wasn’t going to work.”

“Are you not going to see him when you go back this time?”

At Hyungmin’s question, Helena shook her head.

“He met a nice person and got married last fall. Third told me not long after I came to Burnley. He said he went to the wedding.”

“Ah, I see.”

Hyungmin, who had heard an incredible amount of detail about the CEO’s personal life due to a moment of carelessness, was now afraid of what to say.

Helena looked around and asked Hyungmin.

“Did we finish eating all of that earlier? I’m getting hungry after talking for so long.”

“…!”

***

The next day, Monday, January 31, 2022.

While the players who had played a game on Saturday were given a day off, the club’s general staff went to work as usual.

In particular, the last day of the winter transfer window was a busy day for Burnley Football Club and Technical Director Jonathan Landris.

First, following the veterans who had left the club earlier during the winter transfer window, such as Erik Pieters, Jack Cork, Kevin Long, and Chris Wood, 32-year-old veteran Ashley Barnes left for Konyaspor in the Turkish Super League on the last day of the transfer window.

Jonathan Landris, who had been contemplating Ashley Barnes’ transfer until the very end, obtained Hyungmin’s consent after confirming the signing of Wout Weghorst and chose to save on wages by releasing the veteran striker on a free transfer.

On the same day.

New central striker Wout Weghorst and new central defender Abdu Diallo passed their medical tests and joined the team.

Of course, the veterans who left the team had also played a significant role in the team’s overall balance and strength.

However, Wout Weghorst, who newly joined to replace them, was a player who had made a name for himself in the German Bundesliga [German Football League] and the French Ligue 1 [French Football League], respectively.

It sent a signal to fans and competitors alike that Burnley was continuing to invest in maintaining its strength despite its deteriorating financial situation.

In addition, Oscar Mingueza, who newly joined on loan and was already performing well as a backup in the defense, and Nico Gonzalez, who added new tactical options to Burnley, were also performing well.

Although they made a net profit of over 12 million pounds in the winter transfer market, critics who had experienced Burnley, which had shown good performance by replacing veterans with promising players after the summer transfer market, did not hesitate to name Burnley as the team that had made the most substantial reinforcement of its strength in the winter transfer market.

On the other hand, as everyone expected, the most radical reinforcement of its strength was carried out by Newcastle United, whose acquisition by the PIF consortium [Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia] was completed.

The prestigious club located in the northeast of England showed off its enormous wealth by spending a net amount of 90 million pounds in the transfer market.

First, they strengthened their defense by signing English national team’s starting right back Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid, the winner of the Spanish Primera Liga [Spanish First Division League] last season, for 13.5 million pounds, while declaring their will in the transfer market.

Then, they strengthened their attack by signing Burnley’s Chris Wood, who had scored 14 goals in the first half of the season and was participating in the competition for the top scorer, for 25 million pounds.

They strengthened their defense by signing Brighton’s central defender Dan Burn for 13.5 million pounds and Aston Villa’s left back Matt Targett on loan, while weakening the competitiveness of their rivals in the league.

However, what caused the biggest surprise in the football world was the signing of Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, 24, from Olympique Lyonnais, a strong team in the French Ligue 1, for a whopping 33 million pounds.

The signing of Olympique Lyonnais’ key midfielder, who was raising his stock by being selected for the Brazilian national team following the English national team’s starting defender, was evaluated as a signing that showed Newcastle’s ambition to continuously challenge for the top ranks in the future.

With Burnley, who had climbed up from the abyss, and Newcastle, who had revealed their ambition, having an active winter transfer market among the two clubs whose owners had changed this season, the Premier League’s 2021/22 season began its final 14-game schedule towards the end.

***

Summary of Burnley Football Club’s 2022 Winter Transfer Market

List of releases and transfers in Burnley Football Club’s 2022 winter transfer market:

– Erik Pieters, 33 years old. Left back. Transferred to Santos Laguna for 600,000 pounds

– Jack Cork, 32 years old. Central/defensive midfielder. Transferred to Ulsan Hyundai for 780,000 pounds

– Kevin Long, 31 years old. Central defender. Transferred to Toluca for 2.2 million pounds

– Chris Wood, 30 years old. Central striker. Transferred to Newcastle for 25 million pounds

– Ashley Barnes, 32 years old. Central striker. Free transfer to Konyaspor

– Total income 28.58 million pounds

List of signings in Burnley Football Club’s 2022 winter transfer market:

– Wout Weghorst, 29 years old. Central striker. Signed from VFL Wolfsburg for 14 million pounds

– Abdu Diallo, 25 years old. Central/left back. Signed from PSG for 2.1 million pounds