In 2001, Giorgio Chiellini was still a fierce defensive midfielder at Livorno. He had not yet been converted into a left-back, nor had he become the highly successful center-back he would later be. However, as a product of Livorno's youth academy, he held a certain status within the club.
This was a typical characteristic of football clubs all over the world. Homegrown talents were always treated a little differently.
Nevertheless, Chiellini did not have strong prospects in Livorno's midfield. He mostly appeared as a substitute, either as a central midfielder or a left midfielder. He was left-footed, tall, and had good stamina, but his technique was somewhat unrefined. This prevented him from securing a regular place in Livorno's midfield.
Livorno were determined to win promotion to Serie B this season. So, when representatives from New Manchester United approached the club and offered €800,000 for Chiellini, Livorno hesitated for a moment but ultimately accepted New Manchester United's offer.
With €800,000, Livorno could buy several more suitable players, and Chiellini indeed had no clear place at Livorno this season. Cashing in on him was a good deal.
In Ethan's memory, Chiellini only made a name for himself after switching to left-back in the 2003-04 season. He was later spotted by Juventus, who bought his full rights, then sold half to Fiorentina, before eventually buying him back. After that, Deschamps converted him into a center-back, and only then did he truly become famous.
However, the current Chiellini was just a fringe midfielder.
Transferring from Livorno to New Manchester United, from the Italian third tier to the English third tier, the league level remained the same. However, New Manchester United promised him a rotating role in the first team, which Livorno could not offer him. Chiellini hesitated for a few days, then gritted his teeth and made up his mind to head to Manchester.
Upon arriving in Manchester, he discovered that in addition to adapting to a foreign football style, he also had to adapt to a new position on the pitch.
Center-back!
...
At the end of the season, New Manchester United saw Poulsen and Kitson leave, and brought in four players: Didier Drogba, Marcos Senna, Giorgio Chiellini, and Petr Čech. These signings were all made according to Mourinho's requirements.
The outgoing players were sold for £3.5 million, while all the incoming players combined cost less than £2 million. Among them, Senna only required a symbolic training compensation fee paid to São Paulo, thus acquiring a powerful defensive midfielder who had performed excellently in the Brazilian Série A. Looking at it from a future perspective, New Manchester United had definitely completed the most cost-effective deal with the smallest possible outlay.
Whether from the perspective of player quality or development potential, New Manchester United had significantly improved.
However, apart from Ethan, no one else possessed such foresight.
Of course, everyone at New Manchester United had unwavering faith in Ethan's eye for talent, because every player Ethan had brought to the club over the past few years had ultimately proven to be excellent value for money. Currently, almost all of the players were being watched by other teams, but New Manchester United's firm refusal to sell, coupled with the players' unwillingness to force a transfer, meant they all ultimately stayed.
New Manchester United gave them opportunities when they were at their lowest, helping them prove their worth. They were not without feelings or gratitude, so they were unwilling to fall out with the club over a transfer.
As for Ethan's refusal to sell players, that was easy to understand. To ensure the team's performance, only minor adjustments could be made each season. Large-scale buying and selling of players would damage the club's competitiveness.
Any experienced club decision-maker would understand this!
Over the past year, New Manchester United had sold Distin, Ståhlson, Poulsen, and Kitson, while Schmeichel had retired. Now, bringing in these few players was already a significant move. They could not afford any more drastic changes.
Moreover, there truly was not any club that could offer a price tempting enough for Ethan.
For example, Hleb, who had been an excellent winger last season, was highly regarded by many teams, including clubs from England and abroad. But their highest offer was only £1.8 million, which Ethan rejected without a second thought.
Hleb was a better player than Kitson. Would his value be even lower than Kitson's?
New Manchester United were not short of money anyway, so rather than selling him cheaply, it was better to keep him for their own use.
Hleb had also discussed it with the club, and he had no immediate plans to transfer. The club's current development momentum was strong, and after being promoted from League Two to League One, there was a high probability of further promotion, as the difference in level between these two divisions was not too significant.
However, while New Manchester United internally felt there were no issues, that did not mean the media felt the same.
When they saw New Manchester United making only modest moves in the transfer market, compared with Brighton's continuous big spending, they seemed a little timid. As a result, some media outlets could not sit still and began to question New Manchester United's finances and transfer strategy.
...
The multifunctional press conference hall at the Newton Heath training ground was filled with representatives from more than twenty domestic and international media outlets, all drawn there by New Manchester United.
Ethan and head coach Mourinho, who had returned from holiday, stood together, with two players on each side. These were New Manchester United's new signings for the season, and this was a specially arranged meet-and-greet for them by New Manchester United.
Although they were only a newly promoted team in League One, the fact that so many media outlets were present showed New Manchester United's high appeal among League One teams. This was related to New Manchester United's background and the recently hyped Curtis.
In this newly completed multifunctional press conference hall, the host first introduced the main content of today's press conference, presenting New Manchester United's four new signings to the media, and briefly introducing the backgrounds of these four players. Then, the open question session began.
This was also the most difficult part of a press conference!
"Hello, Mr. Mourinho. I'd like to ask, what is New Manchester United's goal for this season?" A reporter immediately raised his hand and stood up to ask.
Mourinho smiled somewhat aloofly. "Brighton said a few days ago that their goal this season is the championship. But unfortunately, last year in League Two, we defeated Brighton in both matches. We were the League Two champions, we beat them, and I believe this season will be the same. We are also determined to win the championship!"
"What about Reading?"
Mourinho seemed to be recalling it carefully. Seeing his demeanor, Ethan found it amusing. This guy had already prepared before the press conference, yet he was now putting on an act, which only showed he rather enjoyed the limelight.
"As I recall, we have also defeated them before!"
"But that was during Steve Bruce's era, and Bruce is now leading Birmingham in the Premier League. But you, Mr. Mourinho, are in League One!" Another reporter seemed to want to remind Mourinho that he was far inferior to Bruce.
Mourinho did not get angry. He just smiled. "Bruce is a very capable coach. He was New Manchester United's first head coach, and I respect him greatly. I hope to meet Birmingham in the League Cup or FA Cup this season. That would be a very interesting match. And after that match, if you are still working at your current newspaper, Mr. Reporter, I hope to see you again!"
This was a blatant provocation, but the English media were quite happy to see such drama. So, they immediately pressed Mourinho with several sensitive questions comparing him to Bruce, but Mourinho was clearly familiar with such situations and answered flawlessly.
Perhaps seeing Mourinho dodging their traps, the reporters present shifted their attention to Ethan.
"Mr. Yu, some people say that New Manchester United are in a financial crisis. Is that true?"
"False!" Ethan answered without hesitation.
"Then how do you explain that this summer, while all your competitors were making big signings, New Manchester United remained relatively quiet? Is New Manchester United's goal this season merely to avoid relegation, and not to compete for the championship as Mr. Mourinho stated?"
These words were full of traps, and Ethan felt these reporters were incredibly clever.
At this moment, he clearly realized that he should hire a professional public relations person for the club to help the club, players, and staff deal with the media. Otherwise, who knew what kind of inappropriate news might surface one day?
"No, our goal this season is indeed to win the championship. Mr. Mourinho is right!"
"Then how do you explain your lack of activity in the transfer market?"
"Because we are strong enough. Our opponents' massive signings are because they realize they still have a big gap to overcome if they want to beat us, so they are trying every means to sign players. But we are different. We have enough strength to compete for the League One championship, so we have no need to spend money like our opponents."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in an uproar. This was even more blatant arrogance than Mourinho's, and these words would undoubtedly set New Manchester United against teams like Brighton.
But what did it matter?
At this point, Ethan paused and continued, "Our signings this season have indeed been modest, but every player we've brought in is very capable. So, we all believe that New Manchester United will be even more competitive this season than last year. As for the remaining funds from transfers, we will use them to improve the club's training ground, youth academy, and stadium. That is the future of a football club!"
"Then how do you evaluate new signing Didier Drogba? Last year, he couldn't even secure a starting position in the French second division!"
Being criticized like this by a reporter, even Drogba, with his dark skin, was almost unable to bear it. But Mourinho, sitting beside him, held his hand, signaling him not to fall into the reporter's trap.
He believed that Ethan should be able to handle such situations with ease.
"Is that so? Then I can only say that the level of French Ligue 2 is too high, even higher than the Premier League, because in my impression, Drogba is definitely a Premier League-level player. He is our team's Batistuta, our warrior up front!"
(To be continued.)