Chapter 1018: Volume 8, Mr. Xia

"Is this true? Has the boss really decided to come back?"

Before the start of training, the players waited for the coach on the training ground while chatting in groups of three or four. The topic of course was the news that was just announced yesterday - Tony Twain will be coaching Nottingham Forest again.

Joe Mattock looked at Bell eagerly, hoping to get confirmation from him.

"Isn't it clearly written on the official website? The news has also reported it." Bell shrugged, but there was an uncontrollable smile on his face. "This time it's real!"

"Ha! I knew the boss wouldn't ignore it! Now the team's performance is so bad, who can change it? Only the boss!" Mattok danced happily.

"Hush! Keep your voice down!" Defender Nkuru quickly put his index finger to his mouth and made a silent gesture. "Don't let Freddie hear you!"

"Don't be afraid, I think the boss is coming back, and he is the happiest." Mattok said shaking his head.

In front of his teammates discussing so enthusiastically, Mitchell put his elbow on Wood's shoulder and said to him with a smile: "Are you relieved, George? The boss is finally back."

"Only half a season." Wood replied blankly.

"Don't be greedy, George. I'll be content with him coming back. Look at the guys. I think we can win the next game against Manchester United, even if it's away."

Although many people were happy for Twain's return, there were also people who didn't take it seriously. Such as the Italian Balotelli. Now he has no time to pay attention to the return of a former head coach. His agent told him that it was not a good choice to leave in the winter, and if he could delay the transfer until the summer, he would be able to win more for him in terms of treatment. Now Balotelli's mind is full of the idea of ​​transferring to the Forest team, and he doesn't care about the team's performance in the future. He is already twenty-eight years old, and there are few golden years that can be spent on such a team.

With the announcement of Twain's upcoming return, the team was clearly divided into two factions. One group was naturally Twain's former disciples, waiting for Twain's return with joy. The other group is those players who have nothing to do with Tang En. They have only come to the Forest team one after another in the past few seasons. They don't know how the new head coach will treat them. ? Will the fate of the team's fringe people change in the future? These questions linger in their minds and make them uneasy. Some people have even notified their agents in advance, if the new head coach is not in tune with them, they should leave quickly.

Before Twain officially became the head coach of the Forest team, there was already an undercurrent in the team. Don't know all of this, has Tang En, who is far away in Spain, thought of it?

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The sunshine in Spain is much brighter than that in England, and the wet and salty sea breeze blows on my face, which makes me feel very comfortable. Tang En was sitting in an open-air cafe, with a cup of coffee in front of him, and the beach and sea view in front of him. Although today is not a weekend, nor is it a holiday, there are still many tourists who come here to play on the beach. The wind blows the waves onto the beach, and the crashing sound drowns out the frolicking voices.

But he didn't bother to go play in the water. He came to Barcelona, ​​Spain this time, not on vacation. Now he is waiting for someone.

To describe today's football agent Xia Yang as proud and full of ambition is not bad at all. Four years ago, he was just a well-known agent in China, making a living by introducing young players to some Eastern European and South American clubs. Don't look at the Chinese media that he seems to be very familiar with those European clubs, but in fact those relationships are just a result of his low-pitched anger. Those giant brokers can directly talk to the head coaches and presidents of wealthy clubs. If they want to meet the head coach of the Dutch second team, they have to make an appointment in advance to see if the other party has time or is in the mood... If it wasn't for his thick skin, he basically wouldn't be able to get along in this line of work.

But it’s different now. Although he can’t compare to a giant like Mendes in Europe, he doesn’t need to ask his grandpa to sue his grandma to sell his players. Every year he receives calls from many European clubs. Recommend some high-quality and cheap East Asian players, or help matchmaking and cooperation with China. In China, he has also become a well-known gold medal agent. The goal of introducing young Chinese players to foreign clubs for trial training and playing football every year is not limited to Eastern Europe and South America where there is no money. He even started a sports industry development company to introduce some foreign clubs who are interested in the Chinese market to play commercial games in China, and earn a lot of money from them.

All these changes are all due to the blessing of a young man he had taken a fancy to at the beginning.

When Chen Jian was recalled to the UK by the Forest Team for the second time and he was given a place in the youth team, no media in China reported this matter. However, Xia Yang used his long-term experience in European football to hear the news. The keen sense of a professional agent made him feel that this might be an opportunity—in fact, what he was looking at at the beginning was not Chen Jian's future, but his ability to Through the connection between Chen Jian and Nottingham Forest, the most powerful club in Europe at that time, long-term cooperation in the future is not a luxury. Just like Mendes gave Pepe cheap to Twain.

During Chen Jian's years in the forest team, his relationship with the forest team did not go as smoothly as he imagined. Although the domestic media made Chen Jian famous because of his relationship with the forest team. Later, Tony Twain announced his resignation after winning the Triple Crown astonishingly. Chen Jian's future and his own wishes all came to nothing. In desperation, he accepted Chen Jian's opinion and did not discuss the renewal of the contract with Nottingham Forest. Instead, he asked the Forest team to loan him out again, and at the same time slowly looked for a suitable team to take over. As a player under him, and a player who brought him a lot of fame back then, Xia Yang really hoped that Chen Jian could have a good home. In the end, the Forest team found him a team in the Dutch First Division and rented him out again.

No one expected that Chen Jian, a boy who was not favored by others, would fight his way out of the Eredivisie League. After the end of the first season, Xia Yang received inquiries about transfer intentions from league clubs in different countries. This includes a facsimile from Espanyol in the Spanish La Liga.

After further contact and communication, Xia Yang was even more surprised to find that the Spaniard's desire to buy Chen Jian was definitely not a whim. When Chen Jian was still playing in Volendam, their scouts had already paid attention to him. After observing him for three seasons, he finally decided to make a move. At that time, the contract between Chen Jian and the Forest team also expired, and the Forest team did not intend to continue to provide the contract to this worthless Chinese player. If he transferred to Chen Jian at this time, he would not need to spend a penny for the transfer fee. A very tempting offer. Xia Yang also took the opportunity to play the cheap card, calling Chen Jian a model of "high quality and low price", a profitable investment with absolutely no risk.

At that time, the Eredivisie team that rented Chen Jian also wanted to sign with Chen Jian, but after discussing with Chen Jian, Xia Yang felt that it was time to go to a bigger stage. In this way, Chen Jian freely joined the Spaniard, who was in the middle of La Liga at the time.

Garcia Gonzalez, then the Espanyol's football director, compared Chen Jian to "a smaller George Wood". needs.

Therefore, if Chinese players want to make a name for themselves in European football, it is far from enough to rely on their own strength, luck and opportunities are also needed. Chen Jian's opportunity was quite good. He was first favored by Nottingham Forest, and then favored by the Spaniard's football director. Without these opportunities, no matter how powerful he is, he may only be able to continue playing in the low-level leagues.

After about half a season of adaptation in the Espanyol team, Chen Jian gradually showed his strength and sorted out the Espanyol's offense and defense in an orderly manner in the midfield. Gradually established his main starting position in this La Liga team.

For a Chinese player, being able to play the main force in a team in the four major leagues is already a remarkable achievement. Those players who only occasionally come off the bench in low-level league teams can get endless reports and continuous attention from the Chinese media, not to mention relying entirely on their own strength, rather than Chinese sponsors. Chen Jian is completely trusted and loved by his teammates, coaches and fans.

In fact, Chinese fans are very self-aware, and they don't want Chen Jian to become a world-class star. As long as he can secure the main position in a team, it is enough.

Every weekend of the La Liga live broadcast, the Spaniard has received more attention than Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two traditional La Liga giants.

Although I originally wanted to start my professional football career in Nottingham Forest, I didn't expect to finally fulfill this dream in the Spaniard.

Today, the five-year contract has one and a half seasons left to expire. Xia Yang was in no hurry to negotiate a contract with the Spaniard.

These four seasons have improved not only Chen Jian's reputation and strength, but also Xia Yang's vision. In any case, the Spaniard can't even ensure participation in the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) every season. Xia Yang now feels that his level is not high enough. Chen Jian is 28 years old this year, which is the golden age of a professional player. He also doesn't want his trump card to die in such a team. If there is a better choice, why not leave?

So from a season ago, Xia Yang was negotiating with the Spaniard asking for a lot of money. He not only asked Chen Jian to get the highest salary in the team, but also asked for a large signing fee. After all, the Spaniard is just a small team, and it is impossible to meet Xia Yang's request, so the two sides froze. It dragged on until this summer, and it still hasn't been resolved. The Spaniard seems to have figured it out now. The Chinese player obviously wants to play in a higher-level team. Selling players who are interested in other clubs to make money is the way for clubs like the Spaniard to survive. Chen Jian is the core midfielder of the team, but if there is a club that can offer a suitable price, he is definitely not for sale.

The Spaniard simply didn't talk about contract renewal with Xia Yang, and just waited for other clubs to offer him. Of course, on the surface, everyone still has to announce that "we are still working hard to keep Chen", "Chen Jian certainly hopes to stay in the Spaniard, but he needs to get a contract worthy of his contribution" and so on...

Xia Yang is not worried at all that the bamboo basket will be empty in the end. Chen Jian's performance in the past three seasons with the Spaniard is obvious to all. Many teams in Europe have privately contacted him as an agent, so he knows that Chen Jian still has great potential to be tapped.

Seeing that the winter transfer window is about to open, he has recently received calls from several clubs. Among them are teams from the Premier League and teams from Serie A. Of course, the most teams are from La Liga. After all, they have to play against the Spaniard twice a season. They are most familiar with Chen Jian's level. . The current Xia Yang doesn't look down on those low-level league teams at all. Except for the three major leagues, he doesn't consider other destinations at all, even the teams in the Ligue 1 and Bundesliga leagues don't catch his eye.

Just when Xia Yang was about to put Chen Jian up for sale, he and Chen Jian received a long-lost call.

The call was to Chen Jian, but when a Chinese with a British country accent appeared on the phone, Chen Jian immediately knew who was calling.

Tony Twain called him as the head coach of Nottingham Forest, and suddenly recalled those four years ago that were sleeping deep in Chen Jian's mind. With Tang En's resignation, he originally thought that he would never have the chance to interact with that red team in his life, but he didn't expect that fate would be so magical. Tony Twain was actually reinstated!

Thus, there was this scene where Xia Yang and Tang En met...

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"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Tang En. There is some traffic jam on the road..." Xia Yang appeared in front of Tang En wearing an Armani casual suit with an apologetic face. In fact, he was late on purpose. How could there be any traffic jam? Today is not the weekend, and the time of the appointment is not the rush hour. He drove the car like a snail on the road, just to come later and let Twain wait. How difficult it was for me to see this man at the beginning, and he simply ignored me, so I really had to humbly beg at that time. It's different now, it's not me who begs you, but you who beg me, Mr. Tang En! How can you get back your lost self-esteem without putting on airs? I'm sure you don't mind, right?

Sure enough, Tang En smiled and shook his head: "It's okay, the scenery here is beautiful, I just happened to appreciate it."

"I haven't seen you for so many years. I didn't expect Mr. Tang En to speak Chinese so fluently, ha!" Xia Yang's tone made people think that he and Tang En must be old friends who have known each other for a long time. This must have been Xia Yang's deliberate affectation. How can I say that Twain is also a famous coach in Europe, and he just led the England team to the national team Grand Slam. If he were friends with him, wouldn't his status also improve?

Tang En didn't mind the Chinese manager's deliberate intimacy.

"Let's get straight to the point, Mr. Xia. What's Chen Jian's reaction to the Forest team's invitation?" Tang En asked straight to the point.

"Uh..." Xia Yang hesitated as soon as he got to the point. "You know, Mr. Twain. Ajian is very happy in the Espanyol team. He is the core player and has a good relationship with his teammates and coaches. The fans also like him very much. I hope he will continue to play in the Espanyol... …You know, just this summer we turned down an offer from Kaiserslautern…”

Tang En sneered in his heart. Now who doesn't know that Xia Yang wants Chen Jian to leave the Spaniard who doesn't have much future? Negotiations on contract renewals always fail. What is the reason? Isn't it just the man in front of him asking for a lot of money? The conditions put forward were beyond the reach of the Spaniards. He didn't want Chen Jian to stay here at all, and he said "Chen Jian is having a good time in the Spaniards now"... This kind of nonsense is used to scare a three-year-old child It's okay, but it's too naive to use it to prevaricate him.

"Kaiserslautern is a team that just returned to the Bundesliga last season. It barely survived relegation. It's normal for you to look down on it." Tang En satirized Xia Yang calmly, reminding him that he is not an idiot, don't Use idiot-like reasons to perfuse yourself.

How could Xia Yang fail to understand what Tang En said? He suddenly felt a little embarrassed, but fortunately he had a thick skin, and a smile immediately appeared on his face. "Of course, of course. As A Jian's manager, I also hope that he can have a better stage... You must know that he is only 28 years old now, which is the time when he should make a lot of achievements... I hope he can go to the stage A team that can stably participate in European competitions every year, whether it is the Champions League or the European League... A Jian himself thinks so."

This agent has also been trained after many years of ups and downs. Tang En satirized him, and he also satirized Nottingham Forest's current situation. I am afraid that they will not even be able to participate in the Europa League next season...

Tang En looked at the manager in front of him again. He was dressed like a dog, and his temperament had changed a lot compared to four years ago. Most importantly, he was more confident. He found that Mr. Xia was a bit more difficult to deal with than four years ago... The manager four years ago had no place to speak in front of him. Now, he can still confront himself tit for tat.

Now Nottingham Forest is ranked 16th in the league, just one step away from the relegation zone. It is really not easy to participate in European competitions next season.

Obviously, this agent has thrown out a condition that can attract them - the qualification to participate in European competitions next season. If you want Chen Jian to join Nottingham Forest, then you can lead the team back to Europe, Mr. Tang En !