Football's No. 1 Prodigal Son

The new season is coming.

Yang Luo did not plan to sit idle after returning from Spain. He wanted to seize the time to continue to recruit players and give Van Gaal enough time to run in the team.

Manchester City's midfield now only has Essien, Makelele, Barton and the 16-year-old Fabregas, so Yang Luo wants to add another person.

Xabi Alonso cannot be bought, and Yaya Toure, who he is optimistic about, is now difficult to get a work permit, so he tends to find a transitional midfielder.

So he set his sights on Leeds United, which is in a financial crisis.

Leeds United still has several good players, and his target is Olivier Dacourt, who has been loaned to Roma for half a season.

This tough player who is often selected for the French national team is now 29 years old and is at the peak of his career.

If Leeds United had not had to sell players to ease the crisis, it would be difficult for Manchester City to buy him at a low price.

So Yang Luo made an offer of 6 million pounds to Leeds United.

Leeds United did not have much choice, and they agreed to the offer.

And Yang Luo also made an offer of 5 million pounds for a young player in their team.

This man is James Milner.

In 2023, before Yang Luo traveled back, he was still able to play in a team of Liverpool's level at the age of 37, which made Yang Luo feel that time had stopped.

This evergreen in football can be a powerful supplement to the team as an all-rounder, and his super high professionalism can ensure that he maintains a high level for 20 years.

Moreover, this young player is only 17 years old now. In three years, he can be used as a valuable youth training to supplement the European war list of the team. This is a very worthwhile deal.

Leeds United could not refuse the benefits of these two deals, so they had to agree to the two deals.

As for the players themselves, Dacourt was already a player that Leeds United had to sell, so he did not hesitate and reached an agreement with Manchester City on a three-year contract with a weekly salary of 40,000 pounds.

Although Milner was reluctant to leave Leeds United, he also knew that Leeds United needed the money from selling him, so he signed a three-year contract with Manchester City with a weekly salary of 10,000 pounds.

So, Manchester City signed Olivier Dacourt and James Milner from Leeds United for 11 million pounds.

The time came to July 1, 2003.

On this day, Manchester City held a grand new player press conference.

Kaka, Ronaldo, Robben, Eto'o, Dacourt and Milner all appeared, and Van Gaal, who was smiling brightly, appeared at the new player press conference with them.

This summer, Yang Luo shocked him a lot. He bought players generously and quickly, which made him feel like he had finally met a famous owner.

Looking at these talented players, he felt that he was a little too extravagant.

San Dezi on the side was also very excited. Look at that Brazilian guy, he is so handsome. As long as he can play well, the commercial income...

However, although the Portuguese guy next to him is still a little rustic now, he will definitely not be bad after packaging. As a pair of good-looking twins, they should be able to bring some popularity to Manchester City.

As the person in charge of commercial development, it is difficult for him not to drool when he sees this idol group with both strength and good looks.

At this time, the press conference officially began.

A reporter began to ask: "Mr. Van Gaal, how do you evaluate the players standing beside you?"

Van Gaal was very happy: "These players are the players I dream of coaching, and I will do my best to help them grow."

Another reporter asked: "Do you think the team still has any shortcomings that need to be supplemented now?"

Van Gaal was very honest: "Now I think it's still the striker position, I hope to add another striker."

This is something he had reached a consensus with Yang Luo a long time ago, and Yang Luo promised him that he would buy at least one more striker.

Another reporter asked: "Since the team has been completely replaced, what is the team's goal this season?"

Van Gaal was full of confidence: "Our goal for the new season is to qualify for the Champions League!"

As soon as this was said, there was some commotion at the scene.

It's the Champions League qualification, not the European qualification!

This also means that their goal is the top four!

The top four in the Premier League this season are Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Chelsea, and the fifth is Liverpool. If Manchester City wants to enter the Champions League, then

Two of them must be squeezed out.

As a young army that has undergone such a big change, can they do it?

Many reporters have a question mark in their hearts.

The reporter from the Guardian who came this time was not David Jones, who was criticized by Van Gaal, but a new face.

The new face stood up: "Mr. Van Gaal, if Manchester City's goal this season is to qualify for the Champions League, does it mean that you will give up the domestic cup and focus on the league?"

Van Gaal raised his eyebrows: "We have so many young talents who need a lot of competition training. Do you think we will miss the opportunity to play more games?"

The next step is to interview the new players.

At the request of Yang Luo, those non-English-speaking talents have already started learning English, and now they can answer some questions simply.

This is very important for them to quickly adapt to life in the UK.

Soon, the press conference officially ended, and the reporters got what they wanted.

Almost everyone believes that this new Manchester City, led by Van Gaal, will definitely bring a different storm to the Premier League!

But this year's Premier League has given people more shocks than that.

July 2, 2003.

Chelsea Club officially announced that Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea Club and assumed all debts.

When the news came out, all Chelsea fans couldn't help but cheer.

This boss is rich enough to rival a country, and his joining will definitely inject considerable funds into Chelsea!

Seeing this news, Yang Luo also thought to himself that the greatest boss in Chelsea's history has finally come.

In the next 20 years, Abramovich has been devoted to Chelsea, but in the end his ending was not too good.

And all the reporters were restless.

A local tycoon just came to the Premier League to buy a lot, and now there is another one!

Is this going to start an arms race?

If so, the Premier League will be interesting!

Is the pattern of Manchester United and Arsenal's two giants competing for hegemony going to be broken?

In any case, this transfer window will be very exciting!

The addition of Yang Luo and Abramovich also marks the beginning of a new era for the Premier League!