Before calling David, Meireles had already spoken to the team's manager, Loew.

Obviously, Deco, who played in Porto midfield last season, will return to Notts County this season, and Notts County have not deliberately hidden this.

So, the conundrum arises.

According to Loew's most commonly used 4231 or 433 formation, whether it is a double back or a back three, the captain of the team, Alonso, will occupy a main position, and Deco, a strong new signing, is even more unlikely to play as a substitute, so Meireles, who was still the main player of the team last season, wants to be the main player in the new season, and can only fight for the last start in the back position when the team plays a three-back formation.

However, in the three-back formation, the importance of defensive midfielders is self-evident, in other words, their competitiveness may be ranked behind Mascherano, which is acceptable to Mereles, who is used to being the absolute main force!

Although he has an extraordinary affection for Notts County, if he can really only be a substitute player, then he will have to think about it.

Young players need plenty of playing time and his type of midfielder needs plenty of experience on the pitch, and it's hard to predict how high he can go in the future if he stays on the bench at Notts County.

So, he had an open and honest conversation with coach Loew.

Loew is actually in a happy mess now, plus Deco, who is about to report to the team, Notts County currently has four full-fledged midfielders, and most of the time, only two of them can play, and the other two can only sit on the bench and wait for rotation, which sounds really cruel!

In his mind, Alonso and Deco are the two playmakers at the back of the wings, and they are also defensive enough to support the backbone of Notts County's midfield.

When playing three midfield tactics, Mascherano is more effective on the pitch, and he can use the strongest defense to free up Alonso and Deco to give full play to their maximum attacking power.

In this way, Mereles may become the least playing time of the four midfielders, which is a pity for his B2B attributes, and there are not many top all-round midfielders in football today.

Maintaining the depth of the squad is very important, especially as Notts County will continue to face multi-fronts next season, and Loew will be hoping that Mereles will stay if possible.

But Loew understands the cruelty of professional football, and he doesn't want to deceive Meireles, so he directly and honestly told Meireles about his plan, and said sorry with a complicated mind.

If possible, anyone who is not willing to change clubs frequently, who is willing to achieve loyalty in a club for the rest of their lives, but only if they can play in particular.

Even if he stays in Notts County, because of the rotation policy that the team will inevitably adopt, his playing time is guaranteed to be limited, but compared with his absolute main force last season, the gap is more than a little bit and a half, as a midfielder who has been selected for the national team, if he can't even play the main team in a team, how can he still retain the identity of the country!

So after talking to Loew deeply, Mereles solemnly called David.

"Boss, it's a tough decision, but I want my career to be a little bit more brilliant and I have the opportunity to play for the Portuguese national team in major tournaments, obviously, with my current situation in Notts County, I'm afraid I can't do that, so even though I'm sad, I still have to make this decision!"

Merreles relayed the conversation he had with Loew to David, and by the time he said this, Mereles' voice was choked.

David sighed deeply, every transfer period is the most tormented time in his heart.

He is well aware of this, and with the arrival of Deco, it will inevitably further squeeze the playing time of other midfielders, and the first of them is Mereles.

The so-called all-round midfielder can attack and defend back.

But sometimes versatility means mediocrity, compared to Deco and Alonso, Meireles' ability to organize attacks is a little worse, compared to Mascherano, Meireles' defensive ability is also worse, when it comes to long-range shooting, he is not as good as Sneijder, even if there is such a player who has both attack and defense in the midfield, which can greatly increase the thickness of the team's bench, but in the end, his competitiveness is still weaker.

If Mereles can accept being a substitute, then there will definitely be a place for Notts County, but for a player who has really made a name for himself, I am afraid no one can accept it.

After a pause, David tried to hide the heaviness of his heart with a relatively relaxed approach: "Raul, I understand your feelings, everyone has the right to pursue their own ideals, if this ideal is not mixed with other impure factors, then as I will support you!" ”

"Thanks, boss, I'm really sad, I really don't want to leave if possible, I love everything about Notts Shire. I can't imagine what it would be like to leave Notts County, but the day really did come and it felt so bad! Mereles seemed to be venting, looking a little excited.

"Maybe I said I'm sorry, if I hadn't brought Deco to Notts County, you wouldn't have to leave Notts County, and sometimes I'm also reflecting on whether I'm doing the right thing or not, and until now, I don't have an answer that I can accept. Okay, so don't talk about the sad things, even if you're gone, Notts County will always be your home, and you can come back for Christmas with us at any time, but do you have a goal in mind now? If there's no club for you, then I'd advise you to stay in Notts County first! ”

David's words were so incoherent that he didn't even know what he was talking about.

"My agent told me that there are a lot of clubs that want to buy me, but the club hasn't let up, I don't have any particular club I want to go to now, so I listen to the club's arrangement, but I hope not to go to the Premier League club because I really can't imagine standing on the pitch and playing against Notts County as an opponent one day!" Mereles said sincerely.

David was dumbfounded, and his heart was not even more tasteful.

"Then don't worry, I decided carefully, I will definitely choose the most suitable club for you, but I want to say that maybe the Premier League team is the most suitable for you, after all, your salary is very high, and it is difficult for teams in other leagues to give this salary." (To be continued.) )