September 28, the day after the third round of the English League Cup.
At the Carrington Training Base, the Manchester United players were undergoing recovery training.
Once Premier League teams enter the busy match period, the frequency of high-intensity training decreases significantly.
Because the Premier League has the most congested schedule among Europe's top five leagues—and no winter break for players to rest—teams must prioritize injury prevention above all else to maintain their commercial value.
Especially around Christmas and the winter transfer window, nearly every team faces an injury crisis.
Take Arsenal, for example.
If they hadn't been historically plagued by injuries and always bottling where it matter the most, they likely would have surpassed twenty top-flight league titles by now and they wouldn't still be waiting for their first Champions League trophy.
Ling felt that with Man United's current squad depth, competing on three fronts was just barely manageable.
Adding the FA Cup to the mix later in the season would likely be too much.
Because of this, Jose Mourinho would definitely have to make new signings in the winter transfer window.
Fortunately, Ling didn't have to worry about injuries himself.
Through recent observation, he noticed his appetite had increased significantly—a sign his body was adapting to the intense physical demands.
After the morning training session ended, only Ling remained on the pitch to do extra work, while the rest of the players gathered on the sidelines to rest.
"Jeremy is practically an animal!" one teammate muttered.
"Just watching his training volume makes my knees ache!"
When a player reaches the absolute pinnacle through pure self-discipline, the entire team naturally becomes tightly knit.
This was precisely the situation in Manchester United's dressing room.
Since joining the club, Ling had experienced both the pain and joy of intense competition.
After all, when your ace player trains like a madman every day, how can you remain lazy?
As long as Ling kept this up, his standing among the players would only grow higher.
Since Zlatan Ibrahimović left the club, Ling had become the main bridge between Mourinho and the players, keeping their relationship as smooth as possible.
For example, Paul Pogba had a very typical performative personality.
If problems emerged in the dressing room, Pogba could become a heavyweight bomb ready to detonate.
But because Ling often accommodated his volatile emotions, Pogba was instead the cheerful joker lightening the mood.
"I'm genuinely happy for Jeremy winning the UEFA Best Player award," Pogba nodded sincerely from the sidelines.
Mourinho was gradually changing as well.
He still demanded authority, obedience, and order, but he had learned to adjust his communication style to fit the modern player.
...
The day passed in the blink of an eye.
Manchester United traveled to London to face West Ham United in the seventh round of the Premier League.
Taking into account the massive increase in viewership from China, the English FA specifically adjusted the kickoff time to accommodate Chinese fans.
The match would start at 12:30 local UK time, which was a prime-time 20:30 in China.
West Ham United had changed managers this season.
They brought in Manuel Pellegrini, famously nicknamed "The Engineer" because he holds a civil engineering degree.
Interestingly, before joining West Ham, Pellegrini had managed Hebei China Fortune in the Chinese Super League, taking over from the local coach Li Tie.
Recently, unprecedented corruption had been uncovered in the Chinese Football Association, and Tie had been taken away for investigation.
This chaos in China was precisely why Pellegrini had been dismissed abruptly and returned to the Premier League.
Upon his return, Pellegrini completed eight key signings, spending nearly €100 million to bring in strong reinforcements like Javier Mascherano, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Gervinho.
Before the season began, West Ham and newly promoted Fulham (who splurged €117 million on twelve players) boldly declared they would "reshape the Premier League landscape."
However, the Premier League proved too challenging.
Both teams suffered four consecutive defeats at the start of the season and occupied the bottom two spots in the standings.
Yet, West Ham United had gradually rediscovered their tough identity as "The Irons."
They recently bounced back, defeating Everton 3-1 and holding Chelsea to a 0-0 draw.
West Ham's squad also included Jack Wilshere, Lucas Pérez, and goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański.
Frankly, with so many injury-prone ex-Gunners, the team had basically turned into Arsenal's second team.
Unfortunately for them, Wilshere was naturally injury-prone and had to begin rehab immediately after joining.
...
After entering the London Stadium, the two teams encountered each other during warm-ups.
Ling glanced up at the sky.
London today was shifting from sunny to cloudy; no scorching sun was definitely good news.
"Long time no see!" Ling waved to Fabiański.
Ling remembered him vividly, as Fabiański was the first goalkeeper he had ever beaten with a Pendulum feint in a league match.
However, Fabiański paid no attention and ignored the greeting.
He had transferred from Swansea to West Ham and was absolutely determined not to get humiliated by Ling again.
Besides, Fabiański now had Pablo Zabaleta and the talented youngster Declan Rice defending in front of him.
Back in the dressing room, Mourinho reiterated his tactical instructions.
"Since West Ham typically employs a single defensive midfielder, Rashford and Mahrez, you need to frequently cut inside! Surround Rice and pull their defensive line out of position," Mourinho ordered.
"At the same time, the two full-backs should quickly overlap and push forward, while the forwards charge into the penalty area to create multiple attacking options."
He then looked at Ling. "Ling, your task is more complex. Decide for yourself whether to press high or drop back based on the situation."
Ling nodded in understanding.
Recently, Mourinho had grown accustomed to giving Ling greater tactical freedom.
Given Mourinho's usual strict temperament, he rarely granted such privileges.
It clearly demonstrated his ultimate trust in Ling.
Through extensive match analysis, Ling had developed an exceptional ability to read the game, and restricting him with rigid instructions would only stifle his creativity.
Soon, the players lined up in the tunnel.
Declan Rice stared at the captain's armband on Ling's arm, realizing how much the gap between them had widened without him even noticing.
However, Rice refused to lose confidence.
He vowed to work hard, firmly believing that he, too, would one day be valued at over a hundred million and become a legend at West Ham.
....
"Good afternoon from the capital! The skies are grey, but the stage is set here at the London Stadium. It is West Ham United, the resilient Irons, playing host to the traveling titans of Manchester United!"
"Looking at the lineups, West Ham are sticking with the 4-1-4-1 formation. For United, Mourinho opts for his trusted 4-3-3. Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly are at the back—one of the top three defensive pairings in the Premier League right now."
"And with Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia absent, the armband remains wrapped tightly around the bicep of Jeremy Ling. Notably, Romelu Lukaku finds himself benched once more after a string of squandered chances. He must be working hard to shed that extra weight on the sidelines!"