The summer chase turned into an absurdist drama in this moment.

Lu Ling leaned back in her chair in amazement, she didn't know what else to say to Simon. She didn't want to be angry with him, and it wasn't Simon's fault. Obviously, QPR can afford the same salary as the Toffees, and can also afford the high transfer fee and agent fee, but this transfer is still delayed again and again, and Delgado's final choice is Everton. Of course, it has something to do with the rumored phone call from Nick. Nick is a charismatic manager, but she knows so she is, and he's good at persuasion, but so is she.

In fact, there is only one essential reason for the failure of this transfer, and QPR does not have Everton's call for reinforcements.

After all, they were last season's Premier League champions and they look more likely to be the new Chelsea, the new Manchester City.

So, did she blame Nick? Technically, he just did what a manager should do, and she had nothing to blame him.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal even the slightest bit of information to her, and they looked at people in a similar way, which was almost predictable. Maybe there will be more of this in the future. It's just that she didn't expect him to abandon Lukaku, and there was no leakage of news before, except that Lukaku did not start in the first round of the league, there was no suspicious sign.

But she did get angry. She believes that any manager who has been robbed of a target player will be very angry at this moment.

And now, most importantly, she has no alternatives.

She has no alternates, she plans to play double striker this season, she fucking has no alternates right now!

Thinking of this, Lu Ling hurriedly straightened up, picked up the mobile phone on the table, and asked Meng Qi: "Meng Qi, do you have a list of candidates?" I talked to you about my tactical outline this season, and we must sign a qualified center forward. I mean, we have to ......" Lu Ling spoke very quickly, and when she said the back, Nathan Neal and Simon could hear that she was a little emotional.

Monchi said hesitantly, "...... I have a few candidates, but I don't think the best one of them is very likely, and the others are not absolutely suitable. ”

"The best candidate, do you want to say Lukaku that Everton doesn't want, but what about the other one?" Lu Ling asked hurriedly. She doesn't have time to be frustrated or angry at the loss of Delgado right now, with just over a week before the transfer deadline and she needs to target tonight. She knew that one of Monchi's recommendations must be Knick's "outcast", because Everton would definitely sell Lukaku - but the reason why the striker was abandoned by Knick is that although he has a strong impact, some of his skills as a center are flawed and not suitable for use as an absolutely effective fulcrum.

But even if she wasn't picky, she didn't think Nick would sell it to her. Just like she's reluctant to sell Pyte to a Premier League team. Romelu Lukaku certainly can't compare to Pater, but still, selling such a great attacking player to a rival is definitely adding to his own problems.

"Yes, Christine, one is Lukaku. The other options, Leganés' center Mamadou Koné, are a player who fits your tactical requirements for a center forward, but is a bit weak in scoring ability and has had too many injuries in the last two or three years. The other ones, are some young semi-finished products, and I can send you the footage if you need it. Monchi said.

Lu Ling didn't react for a long time after listening to Meng Qi's words. She doesn't want a player with a lot of injuries and is suspicious of half-finished players.

As she pondered, Nathan Neal said: "I think it's okay to try Lukaku, but it's better not to let the media know whether it's an inquiry or a temptation, I don't want the media and the fans to think that we have nothing to do and are desperate - the failure of our pursuit of Delgado is a blow to the club's image." ”

Simon sighed, "There may be a turnaround in this matter......," he said, feeling too stupid, the player and the agent are not answering the phone, what else can there be a turnaround, "Forget it, forget what I said." ”

"Then settle on these two first, and like Nate said, I don't want the media to know that we are interested in Lukaku. Simon, don't negotiate with Everton for a while...... I'll probably give Nick a call and see what he means. Lu Ling laughed self-deprecatingly when he said this, "He might let me exchange Zixiang or Ian or Glenn." ”

Meng Qi listened, and hurriedly interrupted her, his voice was very cautious: "No, that's not cost-effective, I didn't mean the price ......"

"Of course it's not a good deal. I mean, that's how the Everton boss has always been. ”

Monchi laughed twice, Nathan Neal laughed too, Simon didn't. Lu Ling knew what Monchi and Nate were laughing at, it was nothing more than her personal relationship with him. Actually, speaking of which, Monchi and Nick are also old acquaintances.

She didn't feel embarrassed either, and continued: "Don't worry, I won't trade the current main player. She paused again, "Monchi, please send me the video of those candidates, I'll take a quick look at it, and I'll discuss the details with you tomorrow." ”

"Okay. ”

After the call, Lu Ling immediately called the Everton manager, but no one answered.

He doesn't answer her calls.

She looked at her phone, her brow furrowed. In the end, she didn't dial again. She began to watch the video that Monchi had sent.

By the time Lu Ling arrived home, it was already past midnight.

This summer has not been as comfortable as last summer, although she was personally investigated by the FA last summer.

She parked the car and rubbed her shoulders as she got out of the car. The wind was a little strong, and she felt her arms cold. She looked up again, and the moon was half-hidden in the clouds. She could hear the wind blowing the leaves, and the sound made her sleepy, or maybe she was sleepy.

She went upstairs as soon as she entered the house.

The phone vibrated as she was about to take off her pants. The first thing she thought of was that Delgado's transfer might take a turn for the better, but she immediately felt that her idea was ridiculous, so it should be Pat who would call her at this time......

She hurriedly went to the bedside table to get her phone, which was Nick's name.

He called back.

"Hey, Nick, I thought you wouldn't dare answer my call. She half-clipped her phone and pretended to be relaxed.

"Sorry, I was a bit busy before. His voice on the other end sounded tired.

Lu Ling looked at his watch, it was almost one o'clock, and he was tired of working at this time. She could guess what he was up to, most likely a transfer for Delgado. She felt depressed. She didn't speak immediately, but took off her pants and laughed dryly.

"Your laughter sounds a little weird, maybe I should say horror. He laughed and said, "Angry with me, call me and yell at me?"

"If it had been two hours ago, yes, now, I'm out of energy. ”

"Just got home?"

"Yes. She took off her pants and collapsed on the bed. She felt that her underwear was not very comfortable, so she simply put down her phone and turned on the speaker.

"I'm still in the office, everybody's gone. I'm in a good mood, so if you yell at me......"

Lu Ling interrupted him while taking off his underwear, "Nick, I'm not going to do that, really." But...... I have one more thing to ask you......"

His laughter was heard.

She didn't go on.

"I'm not going to sell Lukaku to you. ”

Lu Ling picked up his phone again and strengthened his tone, "Absolutely not?"

"Absolutely not. ”

"Okay. Then I don't think we have much more to say. Good night, Nick. ”

"Oh, sweetheart, don't be angry. ”

She was ready to hang up.

"Can I ask you a question before you hang up?"

Say. ”

"What are you wearing now?"

Lu Ling hung up the phone.

****

The next day, major media reported on Delgado's new transfer moves.

It was widely believed that the young Mexican striker was already in the pocket of QPR, and yesterday Delgado's flight number was even revealed, and QPR fans are already waiting to welcome the exciting new signing. But now there is a wave of abuse on social media, with some QPR fans scolding Nicholas as the former QPR coach for being ruthless in intercepting the deal, and others questioning that the transfer department of QPR was too slow to act, and finally let the Toffees take advantage of it.

Another day later, on Thursday, Everton officially announced the official signing of Felipe Delgado, with the 21-year-old Mexican striker becoming part of the reigning Premier League champions.

More information was subsequently revealed.

The Guardian claims that Everton have been planning to bring in Delgado for a long time and have been in secret contact with Delgado's agent.

The Mail said that Nicolas Flores wanted to sell his main centre-forward Romelu Lukaku early on, so a new centre-forward must be brought in. Paris Saint-Germain were the most interested buyers to bring in Lukaku, but the two teams only recently agreed on Lukaku's transfer terms, so Everton moved quickly to buy a replacement that had already been prepared, namely Delgado.

The Echo enthused that it was a heavy blow to potential rivals and praised Everton for their usual shrewdness in transfer operations. Phil Cockbride continued to reveal the details of the transfer, with Everton and QPR offering the same £41 million offer and other terms, with the salary offered at the same level. In his opinion, the charisma of Nicolás Flores played a decisive role, and he completely convinced the Mexican on the phone.

The Sun, for its part, used its usual sensational headline:

dqpragain!

Everton beat QPR again! poor Christine was betrayed this time

****

Barcelona, Spain, Friday, August 24.

Patrick jogged on the training ground. La Liga has begun, and in the first round Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 2-0 thanks to two goals from Neymar to start the game. And he didn't play himself – the injury he sustained at the World Cup, which has been a bit of a recurring lately, did not play in last night's Spanish Super Cup against Valencia.

New manager Pep Guardiola believes Patrick is basically back in the squad and can be on the bench for the second round of the league this weekend, according to the team doctor's report. It was a good thing, but Patrick was still a little gloomy. In fact, is quite gloomy. The sky in Catalonia today is not gloomy, as always, with good midsummer weather.

Over there, Pep Guardiola was waving at him.

He quickened his pace and ran over. He still finds it a little unbelievable, and now he is Pep Guardiola's player. He did not know if the Catalans had foreseen this day.

****

The second round of the Premier League starts on August 25. The first contest was the London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and QPR.

Pochettino, who was already walking on the edge of the cliff, shook hands with Lu Ling, and was only in a hurry.

Tottenham's transfer window this summer is not running well, and it is not as good as QPR - Lu Ling has at least three very strong reinforcements, but Tottenham has not been able to negotiate the transfer target of their choice.

Pochettino was not the only one who was absent-minded, and Lu Ling was also in a trance when he walked into White Hart Lane this time. She has been studying transfers for the past few days, and although she has studied the game against Tottenham in advance with the coaching staff, her preparations have been somewhat distracted by the transfer.

The whistle sounds.

The QPR players on the field did not seem excited, and this unnatural emotion has spread from the coaching staff to the court.

The first half of the game was arguably the most tedious of the Premier League since the start of the season. Lu Ling tried to mobilize the emotions of the players at half-time and made some tactical adjustments. At the start of the second half, QPR made a couple of good chances, but failed to score.

In the 65th minute, Tottenham's first threatening attack of the game appeared.

Harry Kane received a cross from Eriksen and fired a shot straight away from a tricky angle. Hans pounced sideways and knocked the ball out of goal.

The ball fell to the outside of the box and it was Dilly Ali who rushed up, who seemed to want to hit the goal straight and seize the moment when Hans had just made a save and fell to the ground. The ball was far away, but the goal was basically empty, which was extremely dangerous.

Glenn Mitchell quickly appeared. He kicked a few steps, made a flying tackle, and scooped the ball away very cleanly.

But Ali's shot had already been made, and the legs of the two collided together.

At this time, Glenn's right calf happened to have an unnatural bend, and he instinctively wanted to protect himself, but Ali swung his leg with great force and could no longer contain it, and then also tried to brake in an unnatural posture.

As a result, he stomped on the outside of Glenn's calf.

The screams of the Yorkshire boys were clearly heard throughout the noisy White Hart Lane.

The moment Lu Ling heard the screams, he probably knew what was happening, and Alice and Scott, the two team doctors, had already begun to rush into the field.

The referee's whistle blew and the game was suspended, and all the players on the field, including the QPR players and Tottenham players, were stunned. After that, some people started to walk over to check on the situation, and the first to pass was QPR's on-field captain Ian.

The players on the bench, as well as Tim and the other coaches, were basically all gasping.

It was a broken leg.

Lu Ling looked in that direction in a daze, and she felt that her breathing was unnatural. The sky in North London was clear and blue, but there was only a dark cloud in her mind.

****

Lu Ling couldn't remember how he got back to the locker room. The cluttered room, the smell of sweat, the sound of the players, and the shoes and socks jerseys all over the floor did not bring her back to her senses.

Her mind was full of what Glenn looked like when he was carried down. There were tears in the corners of his eyes. Due to the severe pain, he was put on an oxygen mask and given anesthetic drugs to relieve the pain.

Alice tells her that Glenn has been in brief shock for a while and has now been taken to the hospital.

And she can't do anything, she has to go to the damn press conference.

The final score of this game was 0:0, but this is no longer important for Lu Ling, who has only been playing two rounds of the season, and she has already injured Mensah and Glenn, which is not counting the wall in the transfer market. Everything is too bad.

She said a few casual words in the locker room, then handed it to Tim and headed to the press conference herself.

At the press conference, a reporter asked about Glenn's situation.

"Christine, I'm very sorry for Glenn Mitchell's injury today, can you tell us a little bit about that?"

"I'm very sad that all of us are. "Glenn is a very good player, very hardworking and very talented, and it's hard for me to imagine that happening to him. I don't know the exact injury, but according to our team doctor, it should be a fracture of the tibia. We're all sad. Her words came from the bottom of her heart. In addition, she has another layer of concern, Glenn is so young, played so well last season, and what kind of professional impact will this boy have if he suffered such a major injury at a critical time in his career? But she couldn't have been without such concerns. That's where Glenn's tears come from. Not just unimaginable pain, but also the fear of an unknowable future. There is nothing a professional athlete fears more than injury.

The reporter then asked: "In the first two rounds of the league, QPR has lost two important defensive players, will the team bring in reinforcements in this position?"

"I don't want to say much about the signings. After the transfer deadline of August 31, you can see the roster of the team. ”

"It is understood that the QPR focused on physical training in the summer, and also carried out the restructuring of the medical department and the sports science department, do these two injuries mean that there are still problems in the management of the physical condition of the players?"

Lu Ling looked at the reporter angrily, his eyes becoming cold. She looked him in the eye and responded coldly:

"If you're a professional football journalist...... No, if you are an ordinary fan with a little bit of common sense about football, you will understand that these two injuries were unfortunate accidents, and they both occurred in collisions with opposing players. You know it has nothing to do with the physical training and the team doctor? Timothy [Mensah] and Glenn are both in pain, and I hope you don't use that as a gimmick for your article to sell your newspaper. ”

Then she left the press conference in a fit of rage. 166 Reading Network