When Gao Shen returned to Cheshire, Fernando Lucas, Rodolfo Borrell, Sarri, and the others soon heard the news and came to visit him one after another.
They weren't just talented employees, they were also close friends.
Gao Shen expressed his surprise at Leeds United's outstanding performance this season and gave Sarri high praise.
"Frankly speaking, you've done better than I did," Gao Shen said generously.
Sarri was flattered and responded humbly, saying there was no comparison.
This wasn't Sarri being modest. It was the truth.
Gao Shen was managing Real Madrid, a team full of superstars.
Real Madrid's players were all famous names. They had strong individual ability but had also developed personal playing habits over time. Changing those habits wasn't something that could be done overnight.
Leeds United, on the other hand, was different. The players of the White Rose were younger, and most had already played for the club before. That made it easier for Sarri to integrate the team, lowering the difficulty to some extent.
But even so, climbing to third in the standings — even if only temporarily — was no easy feat.
"How does it feel?" Gao Shen asked Sarri with concern.
The Italian admitted, "The pressure is greater."
"That's right. Coaching a team is like that. The better the results, the heavier the pressure."
Gao Shen was certainly satisfied with Leeds United's current situation, but he still emphasized that both management and the coaching staff must remain sober and rational — whether dealing with the media and fans or facing players in the dressing room.
Leeds United was a young team, easily prone to recklessness. If they developed unrealistic expectations, once results declined, confidence could collapse. It was the classic case of "the higher you climb, the harder you fall."
As long as they kept their feet on the ground and followed their strategic goals step by step, the results could end up even better.
The most practical goal for Leeds United now was to play well at home and strive to remain undefeated.
The left wing, where Coutinho, Pogba, and Kurzawa operated, was already a serious threat in Leeds United's attack this season. However, they couldn't afford to overlook the right wing either — especially Salah, who had been in excellent form.
Trippier was currently the team's main right-back and had been performing quite well.
Of course, this was all while the team was still running smoothly. The real test was still to come.
But one thing was clear: José Fonte was indeed a mature and reliable veteran.
In last season's Championship, both Koulibaly and Maguire had looked impressive.
But after promotion to the Premier League this season, the central defensive pairing of Koulibaly and José Fonte had performed brilliantly in the first three league matches, conceding only one goal. Koulibaly even scored one himself.
It wasn't just about the stats. Koulibaly had clearly become much more composed and far less reckless.
The centre-back had outstanding physical attributes, strong speed and agility, solid passing ability, and good technique. It was clear at a glance he was an excellent central defender.
After promotion to the Premier League, his performance had improved significantly.
In contrast, Brazilian centre-back Marquinhos, who had performed very well in the pre-season friendlies, was now relegated to the bench.
However, Marquinhos might still get another chance to prove himself.
Poor Maguire had basically become the fourth-choice centre-back and could only play in the reserve team.
Even the Premier League reserve league was highly competitive. Considering Maguire's age, getting minutes there was still valuable for his development. There was no need to worry about a lack of match experience.
…
After their promotion to the Premier League, Leeds United had played three games, two of them at home, both with 100% attendance.
This was quite rare in the Premier League.
According to Lucas, fans of the White Rose had already begun complaining that the stadium was too small and were calling for expansion, particularly a renovation of the West Stand. However, that would cost tens of millions of pounds and wasn't considered cost-effective.
The idea of renovating the West Stand dated back to the early 2000s. Back then, Leeds United had planned to tear down the old training base and build a shopping mall and hotel in its place, turning Elland Road into a major commercial zone in Leeds.
The plan was ambitious and backed by solid market research. But the club didn't have the money. After suffering consecutive seasons of financial losses and relegation, the project was shelved indefinitely.
Now that Gao Shen had taken over, he had no intention of reviving that plan.
To put it bluntly, Elland Road's potential had been fully tapped.
The club had already invested in renovating stadium facilities to boost match-day revenue. While it had worked, the results were limited. That proved Elland Road had hit its ceiling.
So, was it worth spending 20 to 30 million pounds to expand the West Stand?
For Leeds United at this stage, the top priority was to build a new training base.
Speaking of which, Norman Foster's team had actually lived at Thorp Arch for a while, eating and staying with the club. They claimed they wanted to immerse themselves in the team's culture. During their stay, they held in-depth discussions with the coaching staff, players, and personnel from various departments to better understand their needs.
But designing such a training base would be time-consuming. It couldn't be rushed.
Leeds United's fans were aware that the club was working on a new training base. They also understood that stadium expansion wasn't the top priority. So while some were calling for it, it was more to draw attention than a real demand.
In truth, the situation had become somewhat exaggerated. Leeds United now had a large number of employees, and Thorp Arch was extremely crowded.
Let's talk about the scouting department.
Currently, Leeds United had a full scouting network across Europe and South America. There were ten full-time scouts — not including chief scout Steve Walsh — and around five hundred part-time scouts around the world.
Yes, five hundred.
These 500 part-time scouts were scattered all over the globe, especially across Europe and South America. As long as they submitted detailed player information and data that was accepted into the club's long-term tracking database, they would immediately earn a £25 reward.
Leeds United had even developed a dedicated app for this purpose. Through the app, scouts could submit player profiles, data, videos, and preliminary scouting reports. They could also receive feedback directly from the club.
These part-time scouts submitted huge volumes of player data to Leeds United every day, helping enrich the club's database.
If the player they recommended was eventually accepted into the youth academy or the first team, the scout would receive a generous referral bonus.
In the future, if that player performed well or secured a transfer to another club, the scout would receive an additional reward. This incentive structure was designed to motivate part-time scouts to identify the most promising talent.
Just managing such a large-scale scouting system would be impossible without a well-designed infrastructure and a dedicated big data center.
Now, the staff from the scouting department and big data team had made Thorp Arch extremely overcrowded. Office space was in serious short supply.
This was why Gao Shen, Su Qing, Lucas, and others agreed — a new training base had to be built as soon as possible.
…
One of the major differences between Leeds United and other clubs was that Gao Shen had set up a dedicated new media department.
As the name implied, "new media" referred to internet-based media.
Among Leeds United's sources of income, broadcasting rights were allocated through the league, and match-day income had already reached its limit. That meant commercial sponsorship had become the key growth area.
In European football, the three most commercially successful clubs were Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid.
Real Madrid leveraged stars and media traffic. Manchester United pursued a global branding strategy. Bayern focused on domestic dominance and regional strength.
Each had its own recipe for success.
It was unrealistic for Leeds United to compete directly with these giants, or with other elite clubs like Arsenal and Barcelona, in the global market.
For example, Leeds United wasn't even invited to participate in the International Champions Cup, which would become hugely popular in the following years.
Why?
Because if you hadn't won anything, why would they invite you?
So from the very beginning, Gao Shen targeted a new and less saturated market — the internet.
This was a new frontier with less competition, global reach, and massive potential. It was arguably the best track for a team like Leeds United to overtake their rivals.
Ever since acquiring the club, Gao Shen had committed to turning Leeds United into a football internet celebrity. The new media department was responsible for that mission. They published interesting content daily across major social media platforms, video sites, and other traffic hubs around the world to attract more fans.
Gao Shen himself actively participated in promoting content to drive traffic. As a result, Leeds United's online following steadily grew.
But this was a long-term, systematic project. Gao Shen believed that internet influence would eventually translate into commercial value.
This season, the team's surprise rise to third place in the Premier League gave Leeds United a moment to shine. The new media department took full advantage of the opportunity, launching an aggressive online campaign to push the club's visibility even further.
At the same time, Lucas and the stadium operations team were working to improve match-day atmosphere and increase revenue through various initiatives. These included promoting in-stadium consumption and inviting live bands to perform on game days.
However, due to the limited stadium capacity, the results remained modest.
Still, as Lucas put it, every small increase here and there would add up and help the club boost revenue in the new season.
Even better news came from the latest Premier League domestic broadcasting rights auction for the 2013–2016 cycle. The two main broadcasters, Sky TV and BT, had paid a combined £3.018 billion — far exceeding the previous deal of £1.773 billion.
Gao Shen had finally gotten a taste of this juicy piece of fat meat!
But on the flip side, the wages of top Premier League players were also rising. Superstars like Rooney were now expected to earn over £300,000 a week, and Manchester City's players were among those seeing big increases.
In other words, the massive windfall from broadcast rights could very well be eaten up by skyrocketing player salaries.
This made it even more important for Leeds United to strictly control their wage structure and limit pay increases as much as possible.
Only by doing so could they truly maximize the club's profits.
The booming market had naturally attracted interest from all sides.
With Leeds United riding high, some people had already begun making their moves.
(To be continued.)