Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.
While Europe's top clubs were eager to carve up Leeds United, the White Rose continued to act like a skilled hunter, keenly searching the football world for young players that fit within their target range.
The players Leeds United looked to sign shared several common characteristics.
First, they were young, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20.
Because of their youth, their market value was still low.
Such transfers rarely attracted outside attention, and even Leeds United itself remained low-key. Many times, people only realized it when a young rookie suddenly broke through and shone for Leeds United.
In recent years, as Leeds United's reputation and global network have expanded, their methods of recruiting and developing young players have continued to evolve.
For example, two Brazilian talents, Vinicius and Rodrygo, were both signed early by Leeds United and then loaned back to Brazil because they were underage and could not yet transfer internationally.
However, this "buy first, loan back" approach also had drawbacks. The selling clubs often lacked motivation to train players who had already been sold.
To address this, Leeds United usually signed additional cooperation clauses, offering generous training fees to ensure the other club would make every effort to nurture the players.
And if the player underperformed or got injured, Leeds United would shoulder all the risks.
Because this system was built early on, along with a global scouting network and the massive player database at the AXA Center, Leeds United could access detailed player data anytime and anywhere, maintaining the most complete talent pool in world football.
This foundation gave Leeds United the confidence to continue selling players without fear of weakening the squad.
At the same time, with this structure and the support of departments such as the Methodology Division, Leeds United's annual salary expenses still reached 200 million pounds despite maintaining relatively low player wages.
For comparison, Tottenham Hotspur, with a similar wage control system, spent about 130 million pounds on salaries. The extra 70 million at Leeds United was invested in scouting, youth training, and long-term development.
This did not include the club's hardware, facility maintenance, or equipment costs.
But now, Leeds United's internal system had formed a sustainable and virtuous cycle.
Gao Shen was no longer deeply involved in transfers, as the team largely operated independently. He only gave input when he came across a particularly promising player.
Most of the time, the recruitment department conducted the investigations, drafted transfer lists, and then submitted them to Gao Shen for review.
For deals under 5 million euros, Fernando Lucas and Rodolfo Borrell made the decision, sent it to the finance department for approval, and finally to Su Qing.
Gao Shen would simply receive a report once the transfer succeeded or failed.
At this time, he was reviewing a new batch of transfer documents submitted by Leeds United.
…
During this summer transfer window, Leeds United had planned to sign ten young players but failed in four attempts, eventually landing six. Of these six, Gao Shen only recognized two names, and even then, his impression of them was faint.
Interestingly, both were center-backs from Saint-Étienne in Ligue 1.
One was 17-year-old William Saliba, who played for Saint-Étienne's youth team and had yet to appear for the first team. Leeds United signed the young French defender for 3 million euros.
The other was also 17-year-old Wesley Fofana, from Saint-Étienne's U19 squad.
Saliba at least played for the second team, but Fofana was still in the youth ranks last season. However, his performance had caught Leeds United's attention.
Like Saliba, Fofana's transfer fee was 3 million euros.
After signing both defenders, Leeds United loaned them back to Saint-Étienne for three years.
By the time they turned 20, if their development met Leeds United's expectations, the club would conduct a full evaluation and pay Saint-Étienne up to 7 million euros in bonuses.
In other words, Saint-Étienne could earn up to 20 million euros in total for the two center-backs.
For Leeds United, this was a safe arrangement. It ensured that both players received sufficient match experience, while Saint-Étienne bore less development risk. It was a win-win situation.
Of course, the specific details of the evaluation clauses were carefully negotiated between both clubs.
Even if Leeds United ended up paying 10 million euros per player, that sum was insignificant for a Premier League club, especially one like Leeds United.
After selling several defenders over the years, Leeds United's center-back reserves had thinned out.
Last year, they had tried to sign young Bordeaux defender Jules Koundé under similar terms, but negotiations failed. Now, after a solid season in Ligue 1, Koundé's market value had risen to 5 million euros.
Leeds United was used to such outcomes.
Some clubs accepted their development model, while others didn't. You couldn't force it.
With so many talented youngsters, it was impossible to sign them all.
Last year, Leeds United also tried to sign 18-year-old Konaté from Sochaux on a free transfer. However, RB Leipzig offered better terms, including a guaranteed first-team spot, so the player joined the Bundesliga club instead.
Leeds United, already boasting Van Dijk, Militao, De Ligt, and Ruben Dias, couldn't offer him the same opportunities. In the end, they had to give up.
It was an understandable but frustrating situation.
A similar case occurred with Vlahović, the young Serbian striker from Partizan Belgrade.
Leeds United had agreed with Red Star Belgrade to sign him for 2 million euros, but they could not promise him first-team minutes. Fiorentina took advantage of this, swooping in to complete the deal.
Such cases happened every year.
The current list Gao Shen was reading showed ten targets, but only six successful transfers. If any of the four failed targets became stars in the future, Leeds United would have missed out.
Still, no one paid attention to such things now. Just like few knew that Ibrahimović and Yaya Touré had once trialed at Arsenal, or that Kaka almost joined Real Madrid or Manchester United before going to AC Milan.
These stories only came to light after the players became famous.
Every club had its share of misjudgments.
Gao Shen remembered the two young Saint-Étienne defenders, as Fofana now played for Leicester City, and Saliba was struggling to break into Arsenal's first team.
But given that Leeds United's scouts rated them highly, they must have shown great promise.
Among the six players, one name stood out to Gao Shen.
A 16-year-old from Dinamo Zagreb's U17 squad in Croatia. He had just become eligible for an international transfer. Leeds United scouts had followed him for a long time, and even Borrell personally flew to Croatia to watch him play.
The transfer fee was modest, just 1 million euros after discussions with Dinamo Zagreb.
This time, however, Borrell chose not to loan him out but to bring him directly to Leeds United for training.
That was what caught Gao Shen's attention.
"Joško Gvardiol?" Gao Shen struggled to pronounce the unfamiliar name. No matter how he tried, it didn't sound right.
"Who is this kid? Does he have great potential?" he muttered.
Su Qing, who was standing nearby, shook her head. "I don't know."
She handled finances and had little involvement in scouting or recruitment.
"I'll ask Borrell or Modric about it later," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Modric, a Croatian legend from Dinamo Zagreb, might know something.
What intrigued Gao Shen most was Borrell's decision.
He knew his assistant well. Anyone whom Borrell valued that highly had to be extraordinary.
…
By the time Gao Shen reviewed the list, the transfers were already completed.
Leeds United's focus had shifted to player sales and summer training preparations.
Since Gao Shen first led Leeds United to sign a three-year contract with an American company for the International Champions Cup, the club had traveled to North America for three consecutive summers. These tours laid the foundation for Leeds United's rapid growth in the North American market.
Their soaring commercial revenue in recent years was closely tied to that expansion.
After three years in North America, the International Champions Cup expanded into China and Asia.
In the past two years, Leeds United had also toured those regions to develop their Asian fan base.
This year, according to the schedule, Leeds United would return to North America.
After a two-year absence, the club placed great importance on this trip.
Lucas and other staff had already departed in advance, while the team's summer camp was set in Miami, USA.
Except for players who had just played in the World Cup knockout stages, everyone else had returned to the team, including several who might transfer this summer. All would travel to the United States with the squad.
This North American squad included around 25 players. Since many internationals were still on break, several youth players were called up.
Events like the International Champions Cup not only gave elite teams a chance to compete but also served as a platform for major transfer negotiations.
Many significant deals were reached during this period.
Gao Shen and Su Qing had never been to the United States before, so they decided to join the team this time.
The only difference was that the team was there to train and compete, while they were there to travel and relax.
But who would have thought that the day after arriving in Miami, Gao Shen would receive a call from José Sánchez.
(To be continued.)