Metz didn't invest much in the summer transfer window, not because they didn't add new players, but because they didn't spend much on transfers. Most of the newcomers are promoted directly from the youth team and are still very young. As soon as these people came up, they automatically became Ribery's little brothers.

The biggest transfer deal so far was the €2 million purchase of Chu Zhongtian from Chelsea. Neither the local media nor the fans of Metz saw it as a losing deal, but instead they all thought it was a smart transfer deal. Chu Zhongtian has already conquered the media and fans of Metz with a series of outstanding performances in the final stage of the league. No one in the entire city of Metz would doubt his abilities.

After that, the team started to return to training and everyone returned to the team, with a lot of new faces in the squad, most of them in the youth team.

On July 12, Metz FC officially announced a new transfer information - South Korean goalscorer Ahn Jung-hwan (ahn_jung-hwan) joined the club for free and signed a one-year contract.

The South Korean media were very excited about the return of their idol goalscorer to European football, and published articles on the incident. On the day of Ahn Jung-hwan's press conference, the Seongsan Forion Stadium was packed with South Korean journalists, and from that day on, South Korean journalists surpassed Chinese reporters to become the largest group of non-French journalists near the Seongsan Furian Stadium.

South Korean media have written articles saying that Ahn Jung-hwan is the ultimate solution to Metz's weakness, believing that Metz's team performance last season was not good enough because they lacked an excellent striker, and now after Ahn Jung-hwan came, all the problems were solved. The South Korean media also praised Ahn Jung-hwan's Ligue 1 league as a rapidly rising league in recent years, which has successfully squeezed out the Bundesliga and promoted to one of the four major European leagues.

Metz is a player training club cooperated by the Korean Football Association, and there are a group of young Korean players in the current Metz youth team, which is about the same age as Wang Hao. But Wang Hao has just won the best player in the European Club Youth Team Championship, and his achievements are much higher than those Korean children.

Because of the relationship between the Metz club and the Korean Football Association, Mace's popularity in South Korea is not low, at least it is much better than obscurity, because there are always Korean media reporting on how the young Korean players in Metz are doing, so Korean fans can still understand Metz. Last season, Metz was thrilling to be relegated, which naturally became a matter of media coverage. Frank. Ribery, the "Scarface", is also known to South Korean fans, but perhaps they are more familiar with Chu Zhongtian. After Ahn Jung-hwan joined the team, the Korean media compared him and Chu Zhongtian to the two Asian stars in the Metz club, but in his words, he still regarded the elderly Ahn Jung-hwan as the big brother and senior, and the young Chu Zhongtian was called a junior, and Ahn Jung-hwan was respected everywhere.

Chu was once called in to take a photo with Ahn Jung-hwan during training because the South Korean media wanted to take a photo of the two Asian players playing at the French club. However, due to the language barrier, he did not communicate with Ahn Jung-hwan except for shaking hands.

For An Zhenhuan, a South Korean player, Chu Zhongtian can't say that he hates or likes it. The performance of the Koreans in the 2002 World Cup is in everyone's eyes, no matter how many rumors there are outside, it still has nothing to do with the players themselves, they at least work hard in every game, Ahn Jung-hwan was swept away by Perugia after scoring the golden goal that eliminated Italy, which is quite pitiful. So Chu Zhongtian has neither hatred nor enthusiasm for this former Korean national hero, just like any ordinary teammate.

The Korean media hoped that he would be more enthusiastic, but Chu Zhongtian did not do so, although he continued to smile, he still did not take the initiative to communicate with An Zhenhuan. Speaking of which, he is still Ahn Jung-hwan's predecessor in the Metz team...... How can he let such a senior take the initiative to tie up with the juniors?

Chu Zhongtian couldn't understand Korean, and he didn't know what the Korean media were talking about, anyway, there was a translator, and after taking the photo according to the meaning of the translator, he ran back.

"Hey, Chu, is it your compatriot?" Someone approached and asked. They were also curious about this new teammate. Because Ahn Jung-hwan is an Asian player with the same yellow skin and black hair as Chu Zhongtian.

"No, he is Korean, I am Chinese, we are not compatriots." Chu Zhongtian shook his head and corrected his teammates' mistakes, he didn't want to be mistaken for a Korean. He cares a lot about his identity as a Chinese, and he doesn't do such a thing as forgetting his ancestors, even if he forgets his ancestors by others.

"That person looks very well-known...... "Ahn Jung-hwan sighed as he looked at Ahn Jung-hwan, who was surrounded by a large group of South Korean media stars.

"It is said that he is a national idol in their country." Chu Zhongtian introduced to everyone. Compared to his French teammates and African teammates, he still knows a little bit about Ahn Jung-hwan. After all, it's a neighboring country...... "Wow, then he's here, isn't our main striker scheduled to go out?" ”

Ribery shrugged and sneered, "How is that possible? Whether it is the main force depends on your ability and state, and does not look at fame. ”

Chu Zhongtian nodded, he and Ribery had the same opinion on this point. He also doesn't think that Ahn Jung-hwan will be able to be the main force when he comes. Moreover...... He remembered a little bit of the inside story Merry had told him.

Buying Ahn Jung-hwan is not actually what Fernandes coach meant, because he didn't fancy the South Korean striker, who is constantly suffering from injuries. Buying Ahn Jung-hwan is actually what the club's president Molinari meant, on the one hand, because Metz has a cooperative relationship with the Korean Football Association, and the Korean Football Association recommended Ahn Jung-hwan to Metz, hoping that Mays can help the former Korean national hero return to Europe. On the other hand, Molinari is looking at the Asian market, and now that he has Chinese players in his squad, he also wants to expand into the Korean market. The third point is to consider that Ahn Jung-hwan's contract with the Yokohama Mariners expires, and it doesn't cost a penny to buy him.

In this way, Ahn Jung-hwan, who ended his contract with the Yokohama Mariners, landed in Metz and became the second Asian player to join the first team after Chu Zhongtian.

Looking at the large group of South Korean reporters around the Metz training base today, Chu Zhongtian knew that Molinari had made another good deal.

Fernandes was not optimistic about Ahn Jung-hwan, but tacitly acquiesced that Ahn Jung-hwan joined in exchange for the club's support for him in other candidates.

Chu Zhongtian didn't know who Fernandez was targeting, only that he was still looking for a striker. Judging from this point alone, I know that Ahn Jung-hwan's life in Metz will definitely not be too easy.

In fact, Fernandes is still preparing to buy the striker, but not because he already has a target.

And the origin of this goal is not small...... ※※※ Jeremy. Menez (jérémy_menez) has been in a bad mood lately. There are always all kinds of transfer rumours circulating around him, many people are scrambling to design a future path for him, and people are always expecting too much for him, which makes him very anxious. Every fan who asks him for an autograph will say as he buries his head in his autograph: "You're going to score more goals, you're the hope for the future of our Sochaux, Jeremy!" ”

Every time he heard something like this, his men paused.

He hopes he can score as many goals as the fans hope. But in the last two warm-up games, he has been terrible, playing all 90 minutes without scoring a single goal. When he was in a hurry to score, the more the feeling of scoring was away from him.

He didn't believe it was due to excessive pressure, and as a high-profile gifted teenager, he took those demands for granted.

I'm a genius, so I deserve to be better.

"Jeremy. The story of "Menez's annoyance" began six months ago on January 22, when it was an ordinary Ligue 1 match between Sochaux and Bordeaux. But then the game was made unusual by Menez – he scored three goals in seven minutes to complete a hat-trick, making him the youngest hat-trick player in Ligue 1 history, at the age of 17 years and 259 days.

It was this game that made him popular all over France, and also popular across the channel.

A week later, Manchester United approached the door in the hope of taking Menez with them. Sochaux's head coach at the time, Guy Murphy. Lacombu (guy_lbe) did not hesitate to turn down Manchester United.

Since then, more teams have expressed interest in him.

In fact, Menez did not become famous until now, as a member of the French "U17 Three" (later "87 Four"), he has long been famous, becoming the youngest professional player in the history of Ligue 1 in March 2004, when he was only 16 years old. Before that, he had gone to Manchester United for a three-day trial, and Ferguson had set his sights on him, and he had gone to Paris himself, where he met with Menez's father in a café in the hope of bringing him from Sochaux to Old Trafford.

It's just that Ferguson's "conspiracy" went bankrupt, and Menez's father wanted him to stay in France.

Sochaux's head coach at the time, Guy Murphy. In order to prevent more teams like Manchester United from poaching the wall, Lacomb forced the 16-year-old Menez to sign the youngest professional contract in Ligue 1 history, in which Sochaux offered Menez a salary of less than 8,000 euros a month before tax, while before that Ferguson offered Menez a salary of 64,000 euros a month after tax.

Now, with his hat-trick in Ligue 1 and four goals in 24 appearances for Sochaux last season, he has become a sought-after young player who is wanted by countless teams. Every time a reporter sees him, he almost always asks him if he will choose such and such a team. It seems that he will leave Sochaux tomorrow to go to the big European teams. But in fact, those teams just want him to transfer, and they haven't taken any real action. However, there are several teams in Ligue 1 who have taken a fancy to him and really made an offer for Sochaux.

He doesn't care about staying at Sochaux, but if there is a better option, he doesn't mind leaving the team that has developed him.

What upset him even more was his mentor Guy. Lacombe left Sochaux at the end of the season and did not opt to renew his contract when it expired. Although Lacomb was very strict with him at the beginning, he would not have been reused without Lacombe, let alone scored a hat-trick in seven minutes against Bordeaux.

Just when he was getting annoyed lately, he received a message from Guy. Lacomb's phone.

"Jeremy, have you considered playing in a different place?" This is the first sentence of Lacomb.

Menez was stunned for a moment and asked, "Have you decided which team you want to coach?" ”

"It has nothing to do with me, in fact I was commissioned by an old friend to ask you." ”

"Your friend?"

"Yes, I think you're familiar with him too. Let. Mr. Fernández. ”

"Wow!" When Menez heard the name, he shouted on the other end of the phone, and not only that, but he jumped up and down.

Lacomb was right, the name Menez was not unfamiliar at all, and not only that, but it would also feel very familiar.

Generally speaking, in France, every child who loves football, when they are twelve or thirteen years old, will choose a place, maybe a club, maybe a football school, to receive a complete and systematic formal football training in that place. Most of the players choose the closest place to their homes.

Benzema, for example, is a native of Lyonnais, so he chose to train in football in the youth academy of Lyon clubs.

Nasri was born in Marseille and chose to train at the club Marseille.

But Menez, who was born on the outskirts of Paris, did not choose to train in the academy of Paris Saint-Germain, nor did he go to the French Football Academy in Clerfontaine, also known as Fernand. Sastre (former president of the French Football Federation) plays at the National Technical Center.

The destination he chose was unexpected and far away. In the city of Montbellia, 450 kilometers away, Sochaux Football Club.

When he scored three goals in seven minutes in Ligue 1, there were a lot of people who looked up his CV and noticed that it was a somewhat unusual choice. They don't understand, that's why.

Actually, the reason is very simple.

In 1999, Jean. Coach Fernandez returned to France from his overseas trip and took over the first team that was Sochaux, who was still in the second division at the time.

He has produced a number of outstanding young players in Sochaux's academy - Pedretti (benoit_pedretti known as "Deschamps II" and "synonymous with Sochaux victory", just bought from Marseille by Lyon for 7 million euros), Merian camel_meriem(known as "Zidane's successor" since his debut, played for Bordeaux, on July 11, 2005, he was just bought by Monaco for 6 million euros), Frau (Frau played for Lyon, He is currently on loan to Lens) and others. Relying on this group of young players, he led Sochaux to the first division in 2001 as a second division champion.

Let. Fernandes' reputation for nurturing young players has been visited by many people, including Jeremy Jr., who admires Fernandes' coach. Menez. At the age of thirteen, he became a player in Sochaux's junior team in 2000, where he trained in the Academy set up by Coach Fernandes.

From that time on, he hoped to one day be able to make a . Coach Fernandez plays under his men. However, his wish came to naught in the summer of 2002, when Fernandez, whose contract expired, did not choose to renew his contract, but left for the newly relegated Metz team.

Before leaving, he recommended his good partner Guy to the Sochaux executives. Laconbu. So Lacombe became Sochaux's head coach, and not only that, but he also took special care of Lacombe, asking him to train a student named "Jeremy. Menez" is a small player. That's why Lacomb reused the sixteen-year-old Menez, who signed the youngest professional contract in Ligue 1 history at the age of sixteen.

So the cause of the effect is a name for Jean. The old man of Fernández. In Cannes, he made Zinedine Zidane. In Sochaux, he made Pedreti. In Metz, he achieved Adebayo, Ribery and Chu Zhongtian.

Now, the door to the fruit of cause has come. Does he still want to make Menez?

"Surprised? Didn't you always want to play under Mr. Fernandez, Jeremy? Now there's such an opportunity, and he asked me to ask you if you are interested in moving to Metz. ”

Menez heard that it was Coach Fernandez and almost without hesitation, he told Lacombe that he was willing to go to Metz and that if Metz could get the Sochaux club to agree to release him, he would only go to Metz.

Anyway, the coach who trusts him the most and his favorite coach have left Sochaux one after another, and the new head coach Dominic. Björta was a stranger and didn't know what to do with him. Instead of facing a future that you don't know if it's good or bad, it's better to play under a manager who you like and who you know yourself.

※※※Let. Fernández learned from his buddy Guy. Lacomb got the good news and knew that Menez was inclined to join Metz, so all that had to be done now was for the club to make an offer to Sochaux. They know that there are a lot of teams that want Menez at the moment, and if Metz wants to take Menez, they will have to offer a price that makes Sochaux appeal.

In addition to Menez putting pressure on Sochaux over there...... It should be possible.

After learning what Menez had in mind, Fernandez went to talk to Menez's agent. Pierre. Bonis (jean_pierre_bernes) contacted to negotiate issues such as personal treatment, and at the same time he hoped that Bonis and Menez would join forces to put pressure on Sochaux to help him get Menez.

Soon, Menez, a proud boy, publicly announced in an interview with the media that he wanted to leave Sochaux: "I am very grateful to the Sochaux club for nurturing me. But for me, it was time to go to a new stage. ”

Menez's agent, Bonis, has also come forward to admit that there are currently multiple clubs interested in his players.

Sochaux's club president also knew that their small team would not be able to keep Menez, a star-studded and talented teenager, and decided to accept the offer.

Metz immediately made an offer of four million euros and asked Sochaux for Menez.

Menez, for his part, turned down every other team that offered him a contract, even some of the biggest names abroad. I only chose to sign a contract with Metz.

And just like that, at the end of July, Metz officially announced that they had teamed up with the talented French player Jeremy. Menez is officially on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of four million euros. When Menez makes his next transfer, half of the transfer fee will go to Sochaux. Menez's weekly salary of 18,000 euros is the second-highest salary in the team, behind Ribery and ahead of Chu Zhongtian and Ahn Jung-hwan.

Menez's arrival is considered to have completed Jean. Fernández's mission to form the new Metz.

In Fernandes' plan, Ribery, who can play on the left and right sides of the midfield, can play all on the central axis of the midfield, Chu Zhongtian who can play at central defense, and Menez, who can play all in the front, will be the key to the success or failure of Metz in the new season.

Although the term "Three Musketeers" has been used badly in the football world, he still chose to use the term "Three Musketeers" to describe the three young players of the Metz team with an average age of 20.

They are the Three Musketeers of Metz!

(To be continued)