Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Hot Winter Transfer Window (2)
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"Hahaha! Just leave it to me! Yeager!!"
'Dad, I'm sorry...'
His father was boldly declaring that he could trust him completely.
But what I'll ask of him later goes way beyond what a normal agent does...
Since that's still a ways off, I'll just say nice things for today.
"Oh, right. Two guys are transferring in soon."
"Oh, who?!"
"Hmm~? Yerina, were you pretending not to hear? You were dying to know, weren't you?"
"N-No! You said it loud enough for everyone to hear while we were eating!"
She was actually just a year younger, but counting my past life, I had nearly 30 years on her.
To someone like me, my 16-year-old little sister was just ridiculously cute.
"Heh heh heh~ Yeah, you're right~"
"Ugh... So who’s coming?"
"Marc Bernal and Matu Murcia."
"Barcelona?!"
"Oh... yeah?"
"They're the best team right now, so..."
My sister had naturally come to love soccer because of me, and she knew her stuff pretty well.
Come to think of it, I hadn't heard if she had a favorite team.
Considering she swiped my jersey last time, she had to be a Manchester United fan, right?
"Which team does my little sis root for? Huh? Obviously Man United, where your big bro plays?"
"Well..."
"I wiped your snotty nose so many times when you were little!! You're totally Manggu, just like Manggu!"
"Ugh...!! I'm a Man City fan!"
Clatter—
"Yerina, time to eat~!"
"I already ate!"
"..."
My sister, who played for Manchester United, had declared herself a Man City fan right in front of me before heading to her room.
"Yeager, Yerina's cheering for you deep down, so..."
"Pfft..."
"Yeager?"
"Haha... I know."
She gets embarrassed so easily.
I knew full well she rooted for United just like me, but she was acting tough out of shyness.
Doesn't that just make me want to tease her more?
"Gotta get us promoted to the first division no matter what."
Somehow, I need to snag a Man City player jersey and gift it to Yerina.
Ban Yerin, who had declared herself a Man City fan and retreated to her room.
"Wh-what do I do..."
Ever since coming to England, she'd promised herself every morning to be nicer to her brother.
But today, she'd really messed up.
A Manchester City fan declaration.
This wasn't just some sibling squabble.
She still wanted his jersey, his autograph, and once United stabilized a bit, permission to go watch a game live... This wouldn't do.
Above all, as a proud one-month Manchester United fan, it was humiliating.
"Me, a Man City fan...!"
To escape reality, Ban Yerin, now a fallen Man City fan, threw herself into her work as Bban Ye.
"Marc Bernal and Matu Murcia..."
She was creating transfer window content to run a few days after the Southampton match.
With Ban Yeager planted as her info source, Bban Ye's content would gain fame for its insane accuracy.
Later, limited to Manchester United, she'd be recognized as a Tier 1 sports journalist on par with Here We Go Uncle—called 'Bban Official.'
"These are the players Manchester United absolutely needs to return to the EPL, so let's help them settle in. Bernal, give us a quick intro first."
"I'm Marc Bernal from Spain. Nice to meet you."
Finally, a reliable defensive midfielder had joined the team.
A player Barcelona called the next Busquets.
Among active players, he was rated similar to Rodri.
Our existing United midfielders were, frankly, lacking.
The current resources: Toby Collyer, Finlay MacAllister, Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, and Jace Fitzgerald—a total of five.
Right now, only Toby Collyer was solid, and the Fletcher brothers showed growth potential.
Marc Bernal combined immediate impact with future promise, so we had no choice but to welcome him.
"I'm also from Spain, Matu Murcia. Nice to meet you!"
The two were just a year apart, but their vibes were night and day.
The difference in composure from first-team experience was clear.
Matu Murcia was another rare left-footed center-back prospect.
It would've been perfect if we didn't already have two left-footed CBs on the team.
I couldn't directly influence transfers yet, which was a shame, but nothing to be done.
'Still a long way to go.'
Not just succeeding as a player, but proving my eye for talent to gain a voice in United's transfers someday.
Lucas Cruijd would be my first stepping stone to the reserve team soon.
January 28th.
The match played just before the winter transfer window closed.
Championship Round 29: Manchester United vs. West Brom.
West Brom was one of the 12 founding teams of the Football League, with a long history and tradition.
They'd hovered mid-to-lower Premier League in the 2010s.
But since the 20-21 season, they'd been stuck in mid-table Championship.
In other words, to Manchester United, riding a 5-game win streak led by Ban Yeager, they were just another team to step on.
But the result was a shocking draw.
Final score: 2-2
It poured cold water on United's title run.
But it was disappointing, right? Without the defense lapse, he should've had at least two.
Garnacho, Mount, Antony <<< Gotta use at least one no matter how you twist it lol
Let's think positive. Plenty of room to improve.
The shocking draw against West Brom.
The defense conceding two was an issue, but the attack line was the real problem.
Not just the hopeless trio, even main striker Sesko needed better finishing despite good link-up play.
Chances wasted by Ban Yeager: 7-8 this game alone.
Over 6 games post-transfer: dozens.
Thus, Ban Yeager's 6-game tally: 11 goals, 2 assists.
His creativity-based assist production rivaled his scoring, but it wasn't converting to results.
"Lucas... are you coming...?"
With the transfer window days away, snagging a rare striker was near impossible.
Thus, the hidden gem in U-18 kept nagging at him.
The day after West Brom.
Heading to U-18 training with anticipation and desperation, the news he heard was even more shocking.
"What?"
"You seem really disappointed. Me too... Lucas Cruijd's promotion to reserves has been rejected."
"No way..."
"I was excited seeing his daily improvements since meeting you... But he had a poor showing in the recent friendly against Everton U-18. Seems he's very weak in real matches."
Was I too hasty?
Even in my past life, Lucas Cruijd succeeded only as an adult.
No matter the talent, mental issues don't fix overnight.
"Please don't let him leave the club. I'll keep working with him."
"Oh, that's a given. He's young with clear potential."
"Thank you."
At least he'd stopped Lucas from leaving. That was a relief.
"Lucas!"
"Ah, Yeager!"
Lucas greeted me warmly.
Same age, so we became friends fast.
"Send me that pass again today! Hurry!"
"Huh?"
Slow down, kid... Take it easy!
At Lucas's eager request, I was on the training pitch, firing passes of all types nonstop.
Thwack—!!
Swish—
"Ooh..."
Clap clap clap...
His read on the ball and sheer will to get it goalward were beyond youth level.
'How bad was he against Everton youth if a kid like this struggled...'
Were there world-class talents on Everton U-18 I didn't know about?
"Mind helping with some training for Lucas?"
"Sure!"
The U-18 defenders gladly obliged.
Thwack—!!
"What..."
"Lucas! You can do this—why not in the game?"
Even his teammates were stunned.
A guy like this bottles it in real games...
Maybe some tragic backstory or trauma?
After training, I cautiously broached the topic.
'Is he nuts?'
He was a striker.