Coaching legend

"Hakan Sukur? Emre?"

Galatasaray's executive Turan looked at the guests from England and asked in surprise. It's not a big deal to contact the club in the middle of the season. But sending important figures from the club's transfer department in the middle of the season doesn't involve much contact with other clubs.

"Yes. You should know that our English clubs are different from clubs in other national leagues. The head coach is the boss. The head coach of our club has taken a fancy to your Hakan Sukur and Emre Belozoglu. So I can only run errands. Isn't that what our transfer department does?"

Richard answered Turan with a smile.

Yes, the person who is negotiating with Galatasaray in Turkey is Richard Flynn, the head of Blackburn's transfer department.

"But it's still the season..."

Galatasaray is a strong team in Turkey and the overlord in the Turkish football map. But this is all internal. Since the Bosman Act, even Dutch giants such as Ajax and PSV Eindhoven have been at a disadvantage in the face of the top five European leagues. What's more, it's just a small Turkish giant.

Faced with the poaching of the top five leagues, Galatasaray has no way to deal with it.

As long as the price is right, Galatasaray will not stop the transfer of players.

"Mr. Turan, don't worry. Our club will definitely be higher than any other club in terms of transfer fees. For two players, we will offer 11 million euros. You should know that after all, not many people pay attention to the Turkish league. We offer 11 million euros for these two players, which is already a very high price. Hakan Sukur 7 million euros, Emre 4 million euros."

Once in a negotiation, Richard will be very serious.

Turan thought about it and thought that the price was fair. Although Hakan Sukur was hailed as the best shooter outside the top five leagues, he had a failed trip to Italy after all. And it often happens that shooters who are powerful in those small leagues perform poorly after arriving in the top five leagues.

And Hakan Sukur is not young anymore. There is not much room for development. 7 million euros is not very high, but it is not low either.

As for Emre, he is a rising star. A rising star born in Turkey, now only 19 years old, will be 20 this fall. Although he has performed well in the Turkish league, he is even known as the "Maradona of the Bosphorus". But after all, he is just a young player, and giving him 4 million euros is already good.

But Turan can't just do whatever the other party says, otherwise how can he do business.

"Mr. Flynn. You have a good eye. You immediately took a fancy to the two best players in our club. Hakan Sukur is the best center forward I have ever seen. Look at his height of 1.9 meters and how good his header is. I think even in the Premier League, there is no center forward with better air control ability than Hakan. And he not only can head the ball, but also has good footwork."

"Let's talk about Emre. He is a recognized genius in Turkey. If you go to Istanbul and ask anyone, who doesn't know Emre. His nickname is Little Maradona."

"I think Hakan Sukur is worth at least 10 million euros, and Emre should be worth more than 5 million euros."

Richard listened to Turan's words and laughed in his heart. Hakan Sukur is very strong, but Richard is not convinced that his aerial ability is the best in the Premier League. Blackburn's Klose's header ability is not inferior to Hakan Sukur.

However, thinking of George's entrustment, he still had a smile on his face.

"This price is a bit high. So I will go back and discuss it with the club. But I believe that there is only a difference of 4 million euros between us, so there should be no problem."

…………

The above negotiations were not conducted in March. Instead, Richard went to Galatasaray to discuss in February.

The negotiations between them were carried out several times, and the two teams basically reached an agreement. Of course, it was only verbal, and Blackburn finally made a lot of concessions. Richard and Turan finally reached a unified view on the price of 12.8 million euros.

Turan has agreed that Richard can meet with the two players to discuss personal conditions.

Both players are willing to go to Blackburn. After all, the Turkish League is not considered to be in the mainstream in Europe. The Premier League is now getting better and better and more prosperous. Of course, they are eager to play in the Premier League.

However, when both sides just discussed personal conditions, time had unknowingly reached the end of March.

On March 23, Blackburn went to the Czech Republic for the second game of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Because Blackburn defeated Slavia Prague 4-0 in the first game, the second game was just a formality.

Not only Blackburn knew this, but Slavia Prague also knew it.

In this game, many main players did not even go to the Czech Republic with George, but stayed in Blackburn to rest. Blackburn lost 0-1 away, but still had a total score of 4-1 and entered the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

At the same time, Arsenal defeated Bremen 6-2, Leeds United defeated Celta 4-1, and Galatasaray defeated Lens 3-1.

The list of the UEFA Cup semi-finals has also been released. Blackburn, Arsenal, Leeds United, and Galatasaray are like three heroes fighting Lu Bu. Three Premier League teams and one Turkish team, the three Premier League teams are truly the Three English, but whether Galatasaray is Lu Bu is a big question.

The semi-final matchups are out. Blackburn Rovers face Arsenal, while Leeds United face Galatasaray.

Back in England, the 31st round of the Premier League will be held two days later.

On March 25, Blackburn Rovers will challenge Chelsea away.

Blackburn Rovers are playing like crazy now. Blackburn Rovers, who are in good physical condition, performed well against Chelsea, which is strong. The 3-1 victory made Vialli's position, which was already in turmoil, even more turbulent.

However, Manchester United did not fall behind. They won Bradford 4-0 away. They are still one point behind Blackburn Rovers, with one game less.

"George, I'm almost done with the negotiation now."

This was the most frustrating negotiation for Richard. Blackburn Rovers used to have no trouble buying players. When Jack Walker first took over Blackburn Rovers, he bought a lot of players. Among them were heavyweight transfers such as Shearer and Chris Sutton.

Richard has repeatedly succeeded in such heavyweight transfers. In addition to Jack Walker's support, it is because of Richard's superb negotiation skills.

This negotiation was very problematic. George asked Richard to talk, but he didn't let him sign. Anyway, he used various excuses to talk slowly and kept wasting them. But he didn't sign immediately.

For this, Richard and Galatasaray's Turan could talk for several days for hundreds of thousands of euros. Richard tried to delay as much as possible because of George. As for Turan, the season was still early. Hundreds of thousands is a small amount for Premier League clubs, but it is a large amount for Turkish clubs.

With both sides thinking this way, the things they had been talking about since February were not finished until the end of March.

"You met with the player, didn't you?"

George put down the information in his hand and asked Richard with a smile.

"Well, I met with the player's agent. Both of them are very willing to come to our club. Emre is especially happy. Hakan Suk hesitated for a while, and heard that Inter Milan is also interested in him."

Richard still doesn't understand what George is going to do. So he didn't hide it and told George everything.

"Did you convince him?"

"Well, Inter Milan is indeed a giant. But since it is a giant, the competition is fierce. Inter Milan's current forward line is full of talents, Ronaldo, Vieri, Recoba, which one is not a genius. I told him that when Hakan Sukur comes to Blackburn, you will definitely give him a starting position."

George smiled. He had never said this to Richard.

"Tell Galatasaray that the news of buying Hakan Sukur will have a bad impact on the current Blackburn striker. So the contract must be signed after the end of the season."

"Drag it for a while, wait until the semi-finals are over, and spread the word that we have signed Galatasaray's Hakan Sukur and Emre. Give the news to Steven Yellen. The news he releases is the news I release, and many people will believe it."

When Richard heard George's words, the things he had doubted before were gradually confirmed. A sly smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth. Only coaches like George would do such shameless things.

Let this matter go, and Blackburn will soon usher in the 32nd round of the Premier League.

Manchester United's game was played first. Manchester United faced the powerful West Ham United at home and fought hard. The score of 7 to 1 made West Ham United lose their armor. Redknapp used to have small eyes, which were almost invisible during the game. And his originally red face almost turned into a red apple at the end of the game.

The pressure came to Blackburn, and Blackburn did not withstand the pressure in the end. Ferdinand pulled Quinn down in the penalty area and was sentenced to death by the referee. Sunderland defeated Blackburn 1 to 0 away from home with a penalty kick.

After the game, George stood on the sidelines in a daze.

Although there were still six rounds left, George already knew that the league championship was gone. One more game, but two points less than Manchester United. This is not a score that is so easy to catch up.

Sure enough, in the make-up game, Manchester United defeated Chelsea 3 to 2.

After the 32nd round of the Premier League, Manchester United was already five points ahead of Blackburn. It completely established the leading advantage.

All media knew that Manchester United had already secured the Premier League title this season. In the remaining six games, Manchester United would not lose its five-point advantage. Because that was Manchester United.