Chapter 24: The Future Belongs to Us!

On the first day of the new year, as soon as the winter transfer window opened, Leeds United's official website published three news messages for Leeds fans......

23-year-old Brazilian talented centre-back Marcio joins Leeds United for £6.5 million!

20-year-old Dutch right-back Hojdenk came from Dundee United for £4.5 million!

19-year-old Italian left winger Carlo? Clay Sandy, worth £5 million, came to Leeds from Rome, Italy!

The addition of three young players has made Leeds fans even happier, they are excitedly discussing the possibility of the team winning the championship this season in the forum, the current "Young Guards" has made up for the last shortcomings, there are no obvious shortcomings, and the team is currently at the top of the standings, there is no impact of European competitions, you can go all out to compete in the league, why can't Leeds United win the championship!?

Although he is only 23 years old, he has played 73 games for Sao Paulo and 88 for Gremio in the past four years, with a total of 158 professional league games and six goals and 10 assists.

Hojdenk also has 79 professional appearances, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists, which can be regarded as an excellent performance.

Speaking of which, only Clay Sandi has less experience, only 11 professional league games for Roma last season, and has not been able to play for Roma this season due to personal injuries, but Leeds United bought him to strengthen the bench and he is enough.

Leeds United's three new signings cost the club a total of £16 million, which is not very expensive. But the results were quite good, and while the fans were talking about the three new signings, on the training ground at Thorpe's Arch Base, Simon? Grayson, Xavi and other coaches were also laughing happily.

Marcio is as solid as shown in the video, his left and right foot all-around can make him competent in both left and right central defenders, and his height and weight are not very prominent. But his performance, in terms of strength, explosiveness, speed, etc., is quite good, plus he is better at playing man central defenders, whether it is with Du Xiaoguang or Ksloff, Marcio has played quite well.

But Simon? Grayson can't send Marcio right away, and he won't be able to do so until he's registered with the FA.

But anyway, Simon? Grayson is well aware that in the next five years, or even ten years, Leeds United will no longer need to worry about the selection of central defenders, Du Xiaoguang, Kslov, Marcio. These three will be tasked with defending the goal.

Hojdenk has also performed well, his pace gives him a good range of motion, and with his excellent ability to break through, he is more than capable of taking on the burden of attacking the team on the right flank.

Speaking of which, only Clay Sandi's performance is slightly disappointing, the 19-year-old Italian boy is handsome like a star, and he has a sense of elegance when he plays, and his skills and awareness are very good, but ...... The physical condition is not very qualified. At least by Premier League standards, Clay Sandy is too thin. He needs to make himself a little stronger in the next period of time under the guidance of the team doctor.

But anyway, Simon? Grayson is quite happy with the three new lads, he has always had a good eye for the future, these three lads ...... Surely Shaq will not lose money!

On 6 January, Leeds United hosted Sheffield Wednesday. It was also the twentieth Premier League game for the Young Guards.

Despite the pre-match confidence that "my team will win" the game, Simon? Grayson still didn't expect that Shaq, who had just celebrated his 31st birthday on January 5, would ...... Crazy!

The game was only 5 minutes into the game. Shaq kicked Murray's penalty into the Sheffield Wednesday goal!

On 21 minutes, Velakta sent a through ball to Shaq, who squeezed in front of the Sheffield Wednesday centre-back, carried the opponent in the Sheffield Wednesday penalty area on the right, stopped the ball with his left foot, picked up his right leg and blasted the ball into the bottom left corner of the Sheffield Wednesday goal.

Shaq, who scored a brace, was more active on the pitch, but his third goal came to the 43rd minute when he scored a hat-trick from the penalty spot after being brought down by 25-year-old centre-back Mark in the Sheffield Wednesday penalty area on the left.

In the 71st minute of the second half, after winning the ball in the penalty area on the right side of Sheffield Wednesday, Velakta turned lightly and suddenly picked up a light left foot, showing the elegance of French football while scoring his fifth goal since joining Leeds United.

4:0！

At the end of the game, the big score stimulated everyone in the Sheffield Wednesday team to lower their heads, and now they are facing this Leeds United team, which they once regarded as a sworn enemy, but now Sheffield Wednesday seems to be even qualified as Leeds United's opponent...... None more!

After the end of this round of the Premier League, Leeds United continued to top the table with an unbeaten record of 52 points from 20 games, 16 wins and 4 draws, 2 points ahead of Chelsea, who had one more game, and 7 points more than the "Gunners" who had two games less.

But the next Monday, when the team started training, Shaq was on the training pitch with his arms raised to signal the height of the pass to Hojdenk, when shouts rang from the sidelines......

"Shaq!"

"Shaq, come on!"

Kindness!?

Turning his head, Shaq saw Simon on the sidelines? Grayson was waving to him excitedly, and next to him stood a fat man with a smile on his face, his most trusted agent, the chairman of Leeds United...... Glenn? Oxley!

"Damn, what is this fat man doing here?"

Shaq muttered, signaled to his teammates and ran out, Simon? Grayson immediately put a long down coat over him: "Shaq, let's go, let's go to the office and talk about it!" ”

"Glenn, why are you here? What's the matter? ”

Glenn? Oxley laughed, "Good thing! A good thing, of course! ”

Looking at Fat Man and Simon? The excited and smug expressions on the faces of Grayson and the two of them drew a big question mark in Shaq's heart, these two old guys ...... This is a bad thing for a partnership, right?

Got to Simon? Grayson's office. "Brutal Simon" still has the slightest shelf of a champion coach, and personally brought Shaq a glass of hot milk, but the weather is still a little cold.

After taking a sip of hot milk, Shaq put down his glass and said, "Okay, now can you talk?" There must be something good about the two of you being so excited, right? ”

"Of course!"

"Great thing!"

Simon? Grayson, Glenn? Oxley looked at each other and smiled. Glenn? Oxley said, "Simon, let's talk about it first." ”

"Good! Then I'll start with that! ”

Simon? Grayson took out a piece of paper full of names from the drawer: "Shaq, these young players, these are the young players I have mastered in the past two years through various channels, they all play in the youth teams of various clubs, only a few have been promoted to the first team, I hope ...... Well, I wish we could buy them as much as we can! Uh, none of them will be very expensive! ”

I...... Holy!

Shaq's eyes widened. There are at least 30 names written on that piece of paper, buy them all!?

How much the does that cost!?

After buying these young players and developing them, how much money do you have to invest in them?

In the future, select promising ones from these people to join the club's first team and feed them......

Oh, my God!

This is the rhythm that makes Lao Tzu bankrupt!

Shaq is depressed, Glenn on the side? Oxley smiled and said, "Boss, I have something to report to you here, I just ...... Well, to be exact. It was Leeds United Football Club that had just secured an interest-free loan of £120 million. For twenty years! ”

What the!?

Shaq suddenly felt that his head was a little underturned, why did he suddenly have an extra 120 million pounds?

Twenty years...... Interest-free loans!?

Glenn? Oxley hurriedly took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Shaq: "Boss, this is the contract we signed with Emirates International Bank in the United Arab Emirates, they originally wanted to sponsor our team, a sponsorship fee of 120 million pounds for six years. But I didn't agree, and after a long time, they offered a 20-year interest-free loan. ”

Not!

And this!?

Shaq is a little confused, he is a great player in football, but when it comes to business operations, he is no different from an idiot. But it's always good to have someone give money!

"Well, that's okay, boss, you can start buying those players according to your plan, and find Glenn to solve the money aspect!"

"No problem!"

Simon? Grayson smiled and said: "Shaq, don't look at the amount of our investment this time, and we won't see a return in a short time, but the potential of these thirty-five children is not small, as long as three or five of them can become talents, we will earn it back, and I believe that they will be loyal to the club in the future." ”

"Yes!"

Shaq nodded, then frowned and turned to Glenn? "Glenn, you're a businessman, it's right to maximize profits, but you also have to consider the mood of your partners!" So...... Well, I think you can ...... with that UAE We can still accept their sponsorship, but we can definitely get into the Champions League next season, so you should know how to do it at this price? ”

Belch!

Glenn? Oxley, Simon? Grayson was stunned, they understood what Shaq meant, this is to ask for an interest-free loan, and the other party has to pay a higher price for the sponsorship, this is simply a fish and a bear's paw!

Shaq smiled and said a little lonely: "Boss, Glenn, I'm thirty-one years old, how long do you think I can play?" Well, I feel that playing for another five years will be over, if I don't take advantage of the current situation to lay more foundations for the club, will I wait until I retire to think about looking for investment in the club everywhere? ”

On his thirty-first birthday, Shaq was awakened by the "nightmare" again, and all his attribute points dropped a little, and now there are not many technical attributes that can exceed 15, and in terms of body, only speed, explosiveness, and strength can reach 15, and other aspects such as flexibility, balance, bounce, endurance, and physique are already only 14, and if it continues like this, there will be no more than a few years left in his career.

After listening to Shaq, Simon? Grayson, Glenn? Oxley also fell silent, both of them are people closely related to Shaq, and the biggest credit for being able to call the wind and rain in the football world over the years is still attributed to Shaq.

"Shaq, don't worry, I will definitely lay a solid foundation for Lez, even if there is no you and me in the future, this team will still be a champion!"

Simon? Grayson made a sincere promise to Shaq, and Shaq also smiled with satisfaction, turned his head and said to his agent, "Glenn, in the future...... If there are sponsors who are willing to work with the club for a long time, we can give them some discounts. Such...... Ten years, just ten years, more than ten years, we will give them a certain degree of preferential policies, we ...... Well, there is an old Chinese saying that even if we only have 50 million sponsorship fees for a season, it is better than two or three seasons with 200 million or 300 million sponsorships per season if we can continue for ten years...... Got it? ”

"Yes, I see!"

At this time, the three men in the Leeds United manager's office all thought they had seized the next decade, and it was not until much later that they realized that this brief meeting was definitely a landmark meeting for the "Young Guard", favoring long-term sponsors and sourcing young players to develop them, two decisions that would affect the fate of Leeds United for the next 30 years. (To be continued......)