📰 Fabrizio Romano: Here We Go! Rashford Joins Barcelona!
📰 Fabrizio Romano: Here We Go! Pogba Returns to Juventus!
📰 Fabrizio Romano: Here We Go! Lukaku Joins Inter Milan!
📰 Sky Sports: Manchester United Begin Major Summer Rebuild After Historic Seven-Title Season!
📰 Manchester Evening News: Familiar Faces Leave Carrington as Mourinho Builds Around Ling!
By the time Ling returned to the Carrington training base, many familiar faces were already gone.
To be honest, he felt quite sentimental.
After all, they had fought side by side for two years, setting records and winning titles together.
It was impossible to say there were no feelings involved.
But Pogba and Rashford wanted more possession, more tactical importance, and even tried to divide the resources built around him, which was something Ling could never agree to.
Whether others called him a ball hog or a team tyrant, Ling had to maintain his core status because that was his technical style, his role, and the foundation of the way Manchester United currently played.
"Let me introduce you to our future left winger, Jack."
Assistant coach Faria led Grealish over.
"Hello."
Ling extended his hand warmly. "I've heard about you for a long time. You were brilliant at Villa, and I hope you can integrate into the team quickly."
"Hello."
Grealish shook that large hand and felt slightly flattered.
He still remembered those two spectacular goals Ling had scored against Aston Villa last season.
They were exactly the kind of goals Grealish dreamed of scoring himself.
Hearing Ling's polite praise, Grealish said earnestly, "I'll do my best!"
Ling nodded, then turned to the dark-skinned, muscular man beside him.
"Thiago, welcome to Manchester United as well."
Ling smiled and added, "I think you and Harry will have great chemistry."
He knew that after Thiago Silva transferred to Chelsea, he became the "headmaster" of the Blues at the advanced age of 35.
Though only 181cm tall, his exceptional jumping ability, defensive positioning, and awareness were still top-tier.
He was practically an iron wall in the backline.
"It's an honor to join Manchester United."
Thiago's eye twitched uncontrollably.
He had watched Maguire's videos in advance and realized his future partner seemed a little prone to making mistakes, like that time he threw the ball to the goalkeeper with his hand inside the penalty area.
In all his years as a professional, he had never seen anything like it.
He figured he had a tough road ahead.
But it did not matter.
When he joined AC Milan, Nesta had taught him everything without holding back.
Now, Thiago would do his utmost to guide Maguire as well.
"Faria, with Pogba gone, we have a vacancy in attacking midfield. Are there any suitable candidates?" Ling asked.
His current status at Manchester United was even higher than the future "Dictator Mbappé."
After all, he had achieved unprecedented feats such as the Seven-Title season and back-to-back Champions League titles, and he was also a genuine product of Manchester United's youth academy.
If he had a younger or older brother, he probably could have sent him to play for Manchester United too.
So having a say in transfers was nothing unusual for him.
"Bruno Fernandes from Sporting CP, James Maddison from Leicester City, Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen, and a few others," Faria said, shaking his head with some worry.
"The truly top-tier attacking midfielders right now are players like De Bruyne, Coutinho, Kroos, and so on, but even if we pay a huge premium, their clubs won't let them go. We can only look for younger players."
After thinking for a moment, Ling said, "Isn't Real Madrid planning to loan out Martin Ødegaard? You could ask the transfer department to keep an eye on him."
At the moment, it was indeed difficult to find excellent attacking midfielders.
Either you developed them yourself, or you bet on young talents.
He remembered that Ødegaard seemed to have his breakthrough season around this time.
As for Havertz?
Ling only recalled the later Champions League final, where Havertz scored the decisive goal and helped Chelsea win the Champions League again.
"I'll pass the message on to them," Faria said with a nod. Then he added, "After July 10th, we'll start playing friendly matches. The coaching staff will be at the base all the time, so you can start getting back into shape."
Ling had been busy handling commercial activities with Mendes for an entire month, so his daily training intensity had inevitably dropped.
It would be best for him to begin recovery training early.
"I have a plan. Don't worry."
After saying that, Ling took his two new teammates on a tour of the Carrington training base.
Fortunately, the base had recently been renovated.
Otherwise, they might have been laughed at!
...
Over the next few days, Manchester United used the funds from selling Pogba and Rashford to go on a massive spending spree in the summer transfer window.
For the left-back position, they first competed with Manchester City for João Cancelo, then negotiated with Juventus for Alex Sandro, and even made an offer to Barcelona for Jordi Alba.
In midfield, Manchester United spent 45 million euros to sign Bruno Fernandes.
As for Havertz, Bayer Leverkusen quoted 90 million euros, a price that was outrageously high, though considering his 20 goals and 7 assists, Manchester United seemed willing to accept it if the price could be lowered.
However, the price was clearly inflated, so United began negotiating.
Who would have thought Real Madrid would suddenly get involved?
Bidding.
Counter-bidding.
More bidding.
Manchester United, faced with another bidding war, decisively shifted their focus and began targeting Bayern's Thomas Müller instead, even showing willingness to pay 45 million euros for the 30-year-old veteran.
Bayer Leverkusen panicked instantly.
Real Madrid had won nothing last season and had just bought Hazard.
Did they even have enough money left?
If they scared away their big client, Manchester United, by driving up the price, how would Bayer Leverkusen make money?
Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea also joined the rumours, though none of them confirmed the prices they were offering.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Ling had already led the team through two friendly matches, defeating Perth Glory 3–0 and Leeds United 6–0.
As the summer transfer window moved closer to its end, Bayer Leverkusen finally approached Manchester United and offered to lower the price by 5 million euros.
Manchester United were not especially fond of haggling either.
When the transfer manager met Havertz, the two had an in-depth conversation.
"Can you guarantee my playing time?"
"That's up to the head coach to decide."
"Can I keep a donkey in Manchester?"
"We have farms in the suburbs. You can keep donkeys, horses, dogs — whatever you want. There will even be dedicated caretakers."
"What did Ling say about me?"
"He said you'll be the next superstar, but only if you join Manchester United."
"Did he really say that?"
"Absolutely."
"Then I'll join Manchester United!"
And so, Manchester United paid 85 million euros to sign the rising star from Bayer Leverkusen, 20-year-old Kai Havertz.
Unfortunately, Real Madrid rejected Ødegaard's loan application.
Perhaps Florentino Pérez was angry.
He had made a 250 million euro offer to Manchester United for Jeremy Ling, only to be ruthlessly rejected by Ed Woodward, who declared that Ling was the Red Devils' untouchable asset.
Unless Florentino could sign Messi first, Manchester United would not even consider selling Jeremy Ling.
But the old fox was not stupid.
If he really made an offer to Barcelona for Messi, he would probably become a laughingstock the next day!
Then again, it was not completely impossible.
Figo had happened, after all.
...
📰 Manchester Evening News: United Complete Havertz Deal as Mourinho's Rebuild Takes Shape
📰 Sky Sports: Bruno Fernandes, Grealish, Thiago Silva, Havertz, Alex Sandro — United's New-Look Squad Ready for Preseason
📰 The Athletic: Manchester United Bet Big on Youth and Experience After Pogba Exit
📰 Marca: Real Madrid's 250 Million Euro Ling Offer Rejected Immediately by United
📰 AS: Florentino Told Only Messi Could Open Ling Door
📱 @UnitedStand ✔
Bruno, Grealish, Thiago Silva, Havertz. We lost Pogba and Rashford, but this rebuild is starting to look serious!
| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom
| Reply: As long as Ling stays, I trust the project. Everyone else is replaceable.
📱 @MadridCentral ✔
United rejected 250 million for Ling and told Madrid to bring Messi first. That is a public insult lmao!
📱 @BayerWatch
Havertz to United for 85 million euros. Huge fee, huge pressure, but if he develops beside Ling, this could look cheap in three years!
📱 @TacticalTim ✔
United's recruitment makes sense. Grealish draws fouls, Bruno brings final-third passing, Thiago stabilizes Maguire, Havertz adds movement between the lines. Mourinho is rebuilding the attack around Ling without relying on one Pogba-type creator.
...
July 17, 2019.
Havertz arrived in Manchester with his entourage.
Old Trafford.
Today was the signing ceremony for several newly arrived players, and Jeremy Ling high-fived everyone in the player tunnel.
"Next up is the volley challenge!"
The on-site host shouted loudly.
Manchester United fans cheered in response, welcoming the new players with enthusiastic applause.
But Havertz's expression suddenly changed.
'Oh no.'
'What kind of debut ceremony involved volleys?'
'Wasn't it usually just ball juggling and a few simple tricks?'
At the edge of the pitch, Ling stood beside Mourinho.
"Boss, how's the debut ceremony I picked?"
"So it was your idea," Mourinho said helplessly. "I was wondering why there was suddenly this new rule."
Then Mourinho naturally shifted to tactics.
"Next season, we'll still mainly play a 4-3-1-2 formation. With McTominay, Kanté, Matic, and the defensive line, our defensive foundation should be solid enough, but our attack still needs adjustment."
"Kai's off-the-ball movement, ability to find space, and decision-making are pretty good. He occasionally showed flashes of brilliance at Leverkusen, but he has never been very consistent, so you'll need to drop back frequently to help organize the final-third attack."
"Also, we need to improve the attacking intensity from the wing-backs, especially Wan-Bissaka on the right. He can't just stay back defending all the time. I'll talk to him about it later."
"We'll try to identify problems during the preseason friendlies so we can avoid them once the league starts."
Mourinho spoke for about five minutes, and it was obvious that he was a little worried.
After all, Pogba's departure had a significant impact on Manchester United's attack.
If the team performed poorly next season, the management would definitely make a fuss again and question why Pogba had been allowed to leave.
Even Ling would be affected.
"Boss, I'm even better than last season. Just watch me perform."
Ling grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.
Next season, both Manchester City and Liverpool had strengthened, so the Premier League would only get tougher, not easier.
Ling could not guarantee another Seven-Title season, but he definitely would not accept ending the year empty-handed.
Besides, Manchester United also needed to strategically abandon a few competitions to prevent the team from collapsing under the pressure of fighting on every front.
"Alright, I believe in you." Mourinho patted Ling's shoulder. "I'll keep working hard too and try to make better tactical progress."
At some point, Old Trafford had fallen silent.
Ling could not help looking toward the pitch.
It was Havertz's turn to take the shot, but the German seemed far too nervous. He had already taken ten attempts without scoring!
The Manchester United fans in the stands were starting to doubt reality.
📱 @UnitedStand ✔
Why does this look different from the YouTube comps?
📱 @StretfordEndTom
Did we buy a flop or is the ball haunted?
📱 @RedDevilMick
85 million euros! That's almost a third of Ling's fake Madrid price and he can't score a volley in 14 tries.
| ↳ 📱 @MaguireAgenda
| Reply: I report Havertz for impersonating a professional footballer!
| ↳ 📱 @BigHeadDefender
| Reply: Maguire sometimes impersonates one too, leave Kai alone.
📱 @BrunoBall6
Bruno cost 45 million. Havertz cost 85 million. I am now investigating where the extra 40 million went.