Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 63

63: Did You Forget How to Lose?

“Goal! Burnley’s number 17, Karim Adeyemi, scores! The score is 1-3, 1-3!”

As the home fans filling St. James’ Park fell silent at the stadium announcer’s dry voice, the away fans waved their large flags and lustily sang their new chant.

“Kim! Claret’s Kim! Kim!”

“You have money, we have Kim~!”

“Kim! Claret’s Kim! Kim!”

Burnley’s away fans were still furious that their team’s leading scorer, who had scored 15 goals in the first half of the season alone, had been snatched away mid-season by a club willing to pay his buyout clause [a pre-set fee that allows a player to leave a club if another team pays it].

They were now singing their newly prepared chant at the top of their lungs, reveling in a clear victory at the opponent’s home stadium with an additional goal in the second half.

As Burnley’s new chant echoed through the silent St. James’ Park, Helena, sitting in the club’s director’s box, forced an awkward expression and turned to the Newcastle director sitting next to her.

“I’m sorry, Amanda. This is the first time I’ve heard this chant, too…”

*If I had known they had prepared such a wonderful song, I would have come to this place no matter what!*

“Keep your dirty money, we’ll keep Kim~!”

“Kim! Claret’s Kim! Kim!”

Whether she knew what Helena was thinking or not, Amanda Staveley, sitting next to her, smiled and replied.

“It’s okay. It’s only natural for fans to sing chants that denigrate the opposing team.”

*Well, that’s true, but… Amanda, it’s not very convincing when you say that with your teeth clenched like that. Hmph.*

***

3 wins and 1 draw in 4 games played in February.

Burnley earned 15 points by recording 4 wins and 3 draws in 7 Premier League games played since January, and advanced to the 5th round of the FA Cup [Football Association Challenge Cup, an annual knockout competition in English football].

The opponent in the 5th round is Wycombe Wanderers, who belong to the 3rd division, so they are expected to challenge the FA Cup quarter-finals without difficulty.

In addition, all 4 games scheduled for March are spaced one week apart, allowing for a relaxed schedule.

As the critics’ evaluations of Burnley, which is becoming increasingly competitive, continue to rise, a key management meeting, chaired by Helena, who has been unable to erase the constant smile from her face since her visit to Newcastle, was held again.

However, this time the topic was more serious and important than last time.

Burnley’s technical director, Jonathan Landris, began introducing the topics to be discussed.

“We need to start preparing for the summer transfer market well in advance. If we wait until the market opens, we’ll be overwhelmed, and depending on the opposing club, the price will be high and the negotiations will be difficult.”

The other four, who were familiar with soccer except for Helena, nodded their heads, and Jonathan displayed the prepared data on the screen.

“The overall strategy remains the same as before. We will reorganize the team around promising players under the age of 23, and sell or release veterans over the age of 30. In the long term, we need to replace the loan players with our own players.”

Jonathan displayed a chart showing the status of the squad by position on the screen.

“If we proceed according to this plan, we need to reinforce two left and right fullbacks each. And we need three midfielders, and one more central striker.”

Helena’s expression was not very good after seeing the chart, which was covered in red, indicating that as many as six players had to be reinforced in the summer transfer market.

“I don’t think we have the financial resources to reinforce so many players this time.”

At the club CEO and CFO’s pointed remark, Jonathan forced a good-natured smile.

“We will make signings within the budget, and if that’s not possible, we’ll have to rely on loans. I don’t expect to solve all the problems at once in this summer transfer market either. However…”

“However?”

“If the veterans are released, the wages of the young prospects who are signed will be lower, so I expect that we can secure some of the budget from there… Uh? Um… I hope that’s okay?”

Jonathan stuttered, realizing that he had only discussed the broad outline of the budget, but had not discussed the relationship between the detailed salary budget and the transfer budget.

*Of course, if there is room in the salary budget, shouldn’t we be able to increase the transfer budget?*

Helena stared coldly at the chubby middle-aged man with round eyes wide open, imitating Puss in Boots [referencing the Dreamworks character known for their wide, pleading eyes].

“Hmm… Well, let’s discuss that as we go.”

“Yes, then I will tell you about the players who have been primarily selected as targets to target in this summer transfer market.”

Forcibly ignoring the cold sweat running down his back, Burnley’s technical director Jonathan Landris began explaining the target players to the club’s directors one by one.

“First of all, Mika Marmol. He is from Barcelona B team, and can serve as both a central defender and a left back. He is Spanish and was born in 2001, so he is now 20 years old. He is 181 cm tall, which is a bit small for a central defender, but he is also a left-footed player with crossing ability. I judged that he has very high growth potential, and Nico Gonzalez and Oscar Mingueza, who are currently on loan, also strongly recommended him.”

“What is the transfer fee that Barcelona wants?”

“I think they believe it’s difficult for him to break into the first team anyway. 1.8 million pounds, and 10% of the profit from the next transfer.”

Helena nodded, turning her head left and right to confirm the agreement of Mike Garlic and John Banaskiewicz.

“It’s a reasonable level. What’s next?”

“Omar Richards. He is an English national and currently a left back for Bayern Munich B team in Germany. He can play as a winger, and you can see him as a version of Max Cornet in our team who has better defensive ability.”

As Mike Garlic and John Banaskiewicz nodded with an expression that they had heard of the name, Jonathan continued his explanation.

“Born in 1998, he is 24 years old, so he is a bit older than what we are aiming for. He was developed in the youth team at Reading, which belongs to the Championship [the second-highest league in English football], and was playing as a starter in the first team, but Bayern Munich took him on a free contract in 2021.”

“A young player from the youth team without paying a penny?”

When Helena asked in surprise, Jonathan Landris nodded slightly.

“They paid compensation, but it was a ridiculously small amount compared to the player’s actual value. But in Bayern Munich, he didn’t stand out and was relegated to the reserve team after playing only 3 games in the first team in the 2021/22 season.”

“He had a big dream and abandoned his parent team, but it didn’t work out well.”

Jonathan nodded again at Helena’s comment.

“I don’t think Bayern Munich has any more expectations. According to the agent, they will respond to negotiations for around 500,000 pounds. He is young, can be responsible for our left defense for a long time, and is even a great asset that can fill the homegrown quota [a requirement for teams to have a certain number of players who were trained in the country].”

“Okay. Let’s go with that.”

As the slide passed, this time a young Latino player with a mane similar to Hannibal [likely referring to the character Hannibal from the A-Team, known for his distinctive hairstyle] appeared.

“Next is the right back on the opposite side. His nickname is Guga, and his full name is Claudio Rodriguez Gomez. He currently belongs to Atletico Mineiro, is Brazilian, born in 1998, and is now 23 years old. He is 173 cm tall, but he is a powerful and dynamic right fullback.”

When Jonathan passed the slide, a page summarizing various appearance stats appeared.

“Like many Brazilian players, he has good crossing and passing ability, but surprisingly, his defensive ability is not bad either. Matt Lawton is getting older, and it seems that Connor Roberts has lost trust from Hyungmin, so I think we can expect him to be responsible for the right side in the long term.”

“But?”

Jonathan flinched slightly at Helena’s question.

“…Atletico Mineiro flatly refused, saying they were not interested unless the buyout clause was paid. The buyout clause is 4.6 million pounds.”

“Ugh…”

Helena struggled with her head, then suddenly raised her head.

“What about the weekly wage? Come to think of it, I didn’t check the weekly wage for Mika Marmol or Omar Richards either.”

“I think we can negotiate all three within 20,000 pounds, or 30,000 pounds at the highest.”

“Okay. Let’s go for it.”

Jonathan Landris, who was delighted with Helena’s unexpectedly easy permission, displayed the next recruitment candidate on the screen.

“The last target to be discussed today is Marcus Solbakken. He currently belongs to Viking in Norway and is also a Norwegian national. Born in 2000, he is 21 years old. Like other Northern Europeans, he is a strong central midfielder with passing ability. His defensive ability is not too bad, so he can play as a backup in any of the three central midfield positions. The transfer fee that Viking wants is 1.9 million pounds. However…”

“However?”

When Jonathan passed the slide, the red-painted box was clearly revealed on the page summarizing the appearances.

“He hasn’t played his debut match for the Norwegian national team yet. We think it’s only a matter of time, but the current Norwegian national team is enjoying its heyday with Erling Haaland at the center, so he hasn’t been called up yet. Honestly, it’s touch and go whether a work permit will be issued [official permission to take employment in a foreign country].”

“What happens if a work permit is not issued?”

John Banaskiewicz answered Helena’s question instead of Jonathan.

“First of all, he can’t play in the UK, so we have to send him on loan somewhere else. If we say we’ll send him back to his original club, Viking, they might be very happy.”

Helena frowned at the answer.

“Um… but we can’t just buy a player and wait, can we? We have to play next season too, right? In fact, Josh Brown Hill and Nicholas Seiwald are the only midfielders on our team who will remain next season, right? Didn’t we want to have at least 5 players?”

Jonathan accepted Helena’s point.

“So, I was thinking of trying to sign him first. We will finish all negotiations with Viking and Marcus Solbakken in advance, and make obtaining a work permit the final condition for the transfer to be successful. If a work permit is issued, we will have a good player joining us, and if a work permit is not issued, we can save the transfer fee and look for another player.”

*Either use the player or don’t sign him at all.*

Helena’s face brightened at the story that they had prepared such a contingency plan.

“Excellent. Then let’s proceed that way.”

***

The last weekend of February 2022.

In the Carabao Cup [also known as the EFL Cup, a domestic cup competition in English football] final held at Wembley Stadium, the home of English football, on Sunday, February 27, Leeds United faced Manchester City.

Manchester City, who won the Carabao Cup in the 2013/14 season for the first time in 38 years, have since won the Carabao Cup six times in nine seasons, solidifying their position as the strongest team in the tournament.

In particular, they achieved four consecutive wins from the 2017/18 season to the 2020/21 season, showing a winning streak once they reached the final.

As a result, Manchester City showed a strong side in the Carabao Cup, earning the nickname of serial winners.

On the other hand, Leeds United has no connection with cup competitions, with their last appearance in the Carabao Cup final being the 1995/96 season, when they finished as runners-up.

However, Leeds, led by Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa, has a nemesis relationship with Manchester City, having defeated them 1-0 in an away game in the first half of the season.

As 90,000 spectators filling Wembley Stadium were divided in half and cheered for their respective teams at the top of their lungs, Leeds eventually defeated Manchester City 2-1 after a hard-fought battle that went into extra time, lifting the Carabao Cup trophy for the first time in 54 years since the 1967/68 season.

However, due to the nature of Bielsa, who always attracts attention, it did not go smoothly with the victory.

At a press conference held at the end of the parade in Leeds the very next day, coach Bielsa made a bombshell announcement that he would step down as coach of Leeds United at the end of this season.

And that night, Hyungmin received a call from someone he never expected.