Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 91

91. Overt Check

The puzzle pieces are gradually falling into place.

With Nick Pope secured as the first-choice goalkeeper, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, returning from a successful loan at Sheffield Wednesday, is slated to be his backup.

In defense, James Tarkowski, Abdu Diallo, and Charlie Taylor, along with the promising Nathan Collins, are joined by newly signed right-back Guglielmo Vicario, left-back Jamal Lewis, and Mika Marmol.

With seven players capable of forming a back four, there’s some flexibility. However, Hyungmin and Jonathan want two players for each position and are looking to add one more central defender.

In attack, Wout Weghorst will compete with newly signed Benjamin Sesko for the central striker role.

Dwight McNeil, Karim Adeyemi, and Maxwel Cornet will compete for the two wing forward spots, meaning only one additional winger needs to be signed.

However, the midfield is thin, consisting of only four players: Nicolas Seiwald, permanently signed; Christian Medina, whose signing is confirmed; Nico Gonzalez, whose loan has been extended; and Sebastian Szymanski, whose acquisition for £13 million was finalized after navigating FIFA regulations, Russian considerations, and various financial sanctions.

In reality, Burnley, which primarily uses a 4-3-3 formation, is severely lacking with only four midfielders to cover the regular league season, two cup competitions, and European matches.

Before the summer transfer window began, Jonathan Landris and Hyungmin agreed on a plan to compose the first team with 22 players, requiring at least two additional midfielders and four players overall…

…With the sale of Josh Brownhill, the net transfer budget increased to £46.8 million, but £43 million has already been spent.

With the remaining £3.8 million, it’s honestly difficult to sign even one Premier League-level player.

In that case, the only solution is a loan, but Premier League’s top clubs, wary of Burnley’s rapid growth, have collectively refused to loan out their promising players, regardless of the target.

Honestly, the promising players in the mid-to-lower tier teams are probably worse than Collin McDonald and Henry Mahoney, the 16-year-old forwards and defenders who are rapidly developing in Burnley’s youth team.

Jonathan, reviewing the current transfer situation, sighed and pulled out his last resort.

***

“No way.”

“Helena, please!”

At the core management meeting, convened more frequently than before to coincide with the summer transfer market, Jonathan pleaded with Helena.

“We have no way to sign players without this.”

“You can just bring in loan players. That’s how you managed last season.”

“Now, no Premier League clubs will loan us anyone.”

The conference room fell silent at Jonathan’s plaintive confession.

“Haa…”

Helena sighed and tilted her head, running calculations in her mind.

“…How much more do you need?”

“The more, the better…”

Jonathan flinched at Helena’s expression, her blue eyes wide and coldly glaring.

“Tell me exactly. Exactly.”

“…About £10 million?”

Helena sighed heavily once more.

As the finance director, the part of her that cries out against financial impossibility clashes with the part of her that is the CEO, who must establish the overall value of the club and long-term plans.

The others in the conference room didn’t know that her two selves were fighting, but they watched silently as Helena tilted her head from side to side, muttering something to herself seriously.

“£5 million. No more than that.”

“But…!”

“Instead, I’ll consider the installment payments we talked about if you request them on a case-by-case basis.”

“Whoa…!”

Helena’s statement that she would allow Jonathan’s proposal to sign players on installment plans, depending on the case, was a major concession.

This time, it was Jonathan Landris’s turn to sigh in relief.

***

“Kim! Important news!”

Hyungmin, who had returned to his office after the core management meeting, looked puzzled as Burnley’s football director, Jonathan Landris, rushed into his room without knocking.

“What is it, Jonathan?”

“I heard from a European source that Chelsea has put Malang Sarr up for sale. You can sign him for £1.4 million!”

“Really? No way!”

He was a French defender from Chelsea that the scouting team had strongly recommended, but he was expected to be completely inaccessible given the budget.

A versatile player who can play both as a central defender and a left-back with strong physical condition, excellent technique, and a strong left foot, and only 23 years old.

It was believed that he would have been called up to the national team long ago if he hadn’t been part of the French national team, which was enjoying its heyday by winning the 2018 World Cup.

After growing up in the Nice youth team and playing in more than 100 games for the first team, he joined Chelsea as a free agent at the young age of 21, but the player, tired of the rare opportunities to play in only 3 games over 2 seasons, requested a transfer from the club.

“Okay! Let’s go for it!”

[£1.4 million? Oh, you must be joking. We’re thinking of £18 million.]

Quiet, kind, elegant, and deadly.

That was how Marina Granovskaia, then CEO of Chelsea [a prominent figure known for her tough negotiation skills], was described by a director of another club who had dealt with Chelsea in an interview with a media outlet.

Jonathan Landris felt the part about being deadly linger in his mind.

[Oh, Miss Granovskaia. That’s not what I heard. I don’t think the agent is thinking about that level either.]

[Oh my, Miss Granovskaia. Just call me Marina. I’ll call you Jonathan too. Jonathan, Malang Sarr is a promising player that Chelsea signed with high expectations.]

As if there was no need to look up any data, Marina Granovskaia recited Malang Sarr’s strengths as they were.

[He has also played in 8 games for the French U-21 national team, and frankly, if it weren’t for the current composition of the French national team, which is enjoying its best days ever, he would have been called up to the national team a long time ago. Why would we sell a defender who is about to enter his prime so cheaply?]

Although Chelsea’s owner has been replaced from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly, the Iron Lady, who still holds and wields all operational rights for Chelsea’s transfers and other transfer market issues, firmly nailed it down before Jonathan could even make a rebuttal.

[There are still more than 2 years left on his contract, and the club has an extension option as well.]

[Ah, that’s right.]

Marina Granovskaia’s voice softened for a moment at Jonathan’s seemingly convinced tone.

[Still, as a sign of respect for Burnley, who have struggled in the same Premier League, we can consider negotiating the price. If you give us an official offer.]

[Hmm… We’ll think about it and let you know. We have other defenders on our review list as well.]

[Hehe. Of course, you would.]

Marina Granovskaia’s smiling voice was heard over the phone, as if she had already grasped Jonathan’s bluff.

[Take your time and contact us. But remember, the time in the transfer market is limited.]

Jonathan Landris shook his head after hanging up the phone.

“Could there be something wrong with the information? Chelsea doesn’t seem to be very willing to sell him.”

Hyungmin, who had been listening to the conversation quietly from the side, tilted his head.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Then shall we aim for Anel Ahmedhodžić as originally planned?”

“That’s right. And fortunately, Wolfsburg has replied that they are willing to receive the transfer fee for Anselmo Garcia MacNulty in installments. Helena has expanded the transfer budget and allowed installment payments, so if we negotiate well, we should be able to reinforce two defenders.”

“What is this?!”

The next afternoon, Jonathan Landris stared at the article on the internet with a bewildered expression.

Jonathan Landris took out his cell phone and made a call.

However, even as the ringing tone continued, Marina Granovskaia, the CEO of Chelsea, did not answer the phone.

“…She’s definitely avoiding my calls…”

Enraged, Jonathan Landris called someone else.

After a long time of ringing, Jonathan Landris was about to hang up when the other party answered the phone.

[Oh, Jonathan.]

[Petr. What’s going on?]

The voice coming from the other side of the phone, with a strong Eastern European accent, was sly.

[Are you talking about Malang Sarr? There was nothing I could do. Lille was also very active, and the player himself wanted to go.]

[You asked us for £18 million!]

[Well, that’s right. Honestly, I was thinking of accepting up to £15 million, but unfortunately, you guys backed out too quickly.]

Jonathan Landris suddenly felt a jolt of clarity, as if he had been doused with cold water, at the smiling words of Petr Čech, Chelsea’s technical director [a former Chelsea goalkeeper] in charge of transfers and acquisitions.

[You never intended to sell him to us from the beginning.]

[That’s right. But Marina said that if she could exhaust your transfer budget, she might allow it, so I threw it out there.]

[Why?]

[Are you kidding, Jonathan?]

The voice coming from the other side of the phone became slightly colder.

[My friend, thanks to you guys last season, we were pushed down to 7th place and failed to qualify for European competition. Meanwhile, Burnley won the FA Cup last season and stopped Manchester City from winning the treble [winning three major trophies in a single season]. Our head-to-head record was also 1 win and 1 loss.]

A slight sigh was heard from the other side of the phone.

[Of course, we didn’t expect Thomas Tuchel to decline so rapidly in the season after winning the Champions League, but the club’s top management is furious.]

[You mean the owner Todd Boehly and the investors who provided the acquisition funds are furious, not the club’s top management.]

[Isn’t it natural for the owner and the acquisition team to be members of the club’s top management?]

[…I see. I understand.]

Jonathan Landris, his heart sinking, parted his dry lips and replied.

The voice on the other side of the phone took on a friendly tone again, as if the coldness from before had never existed.

[Anyway, we’re trying to sign a backup striker while letting Romelu Lukaku go this time. How about Wout Weghorst? Do you have any plans to sell him?]

[…If you send us an official offer, we’ll think about it.]

[Haha. You got me there. Okay, we’ll think about it too. It’s nothing personal, Jonathan. You know?]

[Of course. I understand perfectly, Petr.]

[Then let’s talk again next time.]

Jonathan Landris looked down at the cell phone with the call disconnected.

He realized it this time for sure.

Like Manchester United, who refused to extend the loans of their loan players, the top Premier League clubs had now begun to recognize and check Burnley as a serious competitor.

A strangely intertwined feeling of fear and joy swirled in his heart.

“Okay. I’m not going to ask you to go easy on us. Let’s have a real match.”

Burnley’s new football director, Jonathan Landris, muttered to himself as if making a vow, turned his chair, and glared at the recruitment list written on the whiteboard.

In order to flatten the noses of those who are sending blatant checks next season as well, he had to put the best squad in the hands of the young, brilliant manager.