Super Marshal

While Gao Han was receiving Armando Marcos and Cantarero in the hotel, far away in the Colney training base in north London, Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger also welcomed his colleagues who had returned from South America.

Arsenal's chief scout Steve Rowley.

This time Steve Rowley personally went to Peru, South America, to watch the U20 South American Youth Tournament live.

Participating in the youth competition are ten South American youth national teams, divided into two groups, each group of five teams, fighting in a single round-robin. After the ranking is determined, the top three in each group will automatically enter the final group, and then fight in a single round-robin, and finally the ranking will be determined. to decide the outcome.

Because it is related to the quota for the World Youth Championship, every national youth team will try its best to recall players who play in the European League to the country.

For European teams, this is undoubtedly a rare opportunity to observe young talents from South America up close, so Steve Rowley went to Peru to watch the game in person, hoping to observe closely and see if he can unearth stars of hope. .

After the team started planning to build a new stadium, Arsenal has always been cultivating young players as a way to build the team, so the Gunners also paid great attention to Steve Rowley's trip. The chief scout arrived last night London, arrived at Colney training base early this morning to report on work.

"How's it going? What's the gain?" Wenger asked with expectant concern as soon as he saw Steve Rowley.

Pat Rice and other assistants were also watching the chief scout, hoping to get good news.

"You must have read the specific news. Brazil is too strong this time." Steve Rowley praised.

Brazil is the champion of this youth tournament. They have only lost two of the nine games in total, but they have many classic games such as a 4-2 victory over Paraguay, a 5-1 victory over Chile, and a 6-0 victory over Uruguay.

"In this youth tournament, Brazil's Neymar is the well-deserved number one star. He scored nine goals in nine games. He has shown a superior strength in this competition. If he continues to develop in this direction, , this kid is bound to become a great player and will definitely be a top star in the future."

With the end of this youth tournament, Neymar once again attracted the attention of mainstream European media and clubs. Many wealthy teams began to pay attention to this Brazilian genius, but his worth is also quite astonishing, and it can even be said to be valuable. Price has no market value.

Almost everyone who has seen Neymar play will conclude without hesitation that he will be a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or in the future.

What's more, he has a great agent in Jorge Mendes.

"It is no longer news that Neymar can become a talent. It is said that Gao Han personally determined that he was a player of Ballon d'Or level. In recent years, many wealthy teams have wanted to get him, but it is said that he and his family have not yet The reason for developing in Europe is probably because the chips are not enough." Pat Rice laughed.

Gao Han concluded with his own eyes that this is undoubtedly a guarantee of quality in the European transfer market.

"Brazil's economy has been good in recent years, and the club is not as short of money as before, so they are not in a hurry to sell. Neymar's partner in Europe is Mendes, but his father is still handling the specific brokerage affairs. It is said that the ownership is quite good. It’s so complicated, it’s probably going to be difficult to get him.” Steve Rowley shook his head.

This is also the crux of many South American players.

"However, in addition to Neymar, I think there is another attacker in the Brazilian team who is worthy of our attention."

"Who?" Wenger asked.

"Lucas Moura, he scored a hat trick in Brazil's 6-0 victory over Uruguay. He has excellent explosive power and precise scoring ability. His breakthrough from the right is very sharp. I think if he is cultivated properly, he will be a good player in the future. The achievements are also limitless.”

Wenger nodded slightly, "There are not many players of this type in Brazil, but whether they can adapt to European leagues, especially the Premier League, will be a very challenging topic."

The Premier League has been called a nightmare for Brazilian players, and it’s not without reason.

In this country that emphasizes strength confrontation, the superb skills of Brazilian players are often greatly curbed. Therefore, over the years, Brazilian players have often been reluctant to come to the Premier League to play.

"In addition to these two players, there are several very good players in the Brazilian team, such as midfielders Oscar and Casemiro. Both players are from Sao Paulo. Oscar is the attacking midfielder and is the key player of this Brazilian national youth team. The team’s core No. 10 is performing well, and Casemiro is a strong midfielder. Like Lucas Moura, he is Sao Paulo’s biggest discovery this season.”

"In comparison, Coutinho, who plays for Inter Milan, seems relatively sluggish, but the two full-backs in Chinatown performed quite eye-catching, one is Danilo on the right, and the other is Allais on the left. Sandro, both performed very well in the cup and won recognition."

When Wenger heard the name of Chinatown, his brows tightened, "These two are not the absolute main force in Chinatown, right?"

"Well, Danilo is Carvajal's competitor. The competition between the two is very fierce and their performance is remarkable. Alex Sandro is Alba's substitute and his performance in the game is okay. Pat Rice replied.

After hearing this, Wenger nodded, "It seems that Chinatown is really full of talents."

"Not only that, there is another person who deserves our attention. I even think that if he develops well, his achievements in the future may not be lost to Neymar's."

"who?"

"James Rodriguez."

"It's him!" Everyone was impressed.

James Rodriguez is the most eye-catching midfielder in Chinatown this season, averaging nearly three threats per game, making him surpass Messi and Ozil and becoming the player best at passing threats in La Liga.

"This player scored six goals and assisted five times in nine games. He was one of the best players in the youth tournament. However, due to the fact that Colombia's overall strength is not as good as that of Brazil and Argentina, Colombia ultimately only won Got to fourth, but he impressed us immensely.”

"Tell me about it." Wenger also asked with great interest.

But the players that Gao Han likes are usually good, and some even have real talents.

"He is very comprehensive. He is proficient in passing, controlling, dribbling, and shooting. He has a balanced left and right foot. He is not bad in terms of height and strength. He is a very comprehensive attacking midfielder, especially his long shot and his skills. Jingsi Si can basically adapt to the development of the entire central axis from the shadow striker, attacking midfielder to midfielder."

Neither Arsene Wenger nor Pat Rice expected Steve Rowley to speak so highly of James Rodriguez.

"In fact, it's not just me. As far as I know, almost all European scouts who went to Peru have a very high evaluation of James Rodriguez, even no less than Neymar. It is said that he has basically determined to Participating in this summer's America's Cup and World Youth Championship, if we can continue this outstanding performance, I probably won't be able to keep him this summer."

After all, Chinatown is a small team. Although its ability to train players is very good, once the wealthy teams start poaching, Chinatown will have no chance of winning and will not be able to retain people even if they want to. This has to be said for small teams. A great sorrow.

Wenger frowned deeply, as if he was lost in thought. After a full minute or two, the Frenchman looked at Steve Rowley again, with a shrewd look in his eyes.

"Steve, please contact the Independent and tell them we are keeping a close eye on James Rodriguez."

Both Pat Rice and Steve Rowley were visibly surprised, "Why?"

When it comes to psychological warfare against Gao Han, it's too late, right?

There's a game tonight. Telling the media now, will it work?

"Nasri's contract renewal has encountered some problems." Wenger said with a sigh.

After hearing this, the two assistants immediately understood what Wenger meant.

Nasri is one of the team's most outstanding players recently, but because of this, he has attracted the attention of many wealthy teams, including Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are rumored to be interested in him, and the French are also interested. Up.

The 23-year-old Nasri currently only has 18 months left on his contract. If the contract is not renewed before this summer, Arsenal will become very passive. Therefore, the bargaining chip offered by the Gunners is reduced from the original 60,000 pounds per week. The salary was increased to 100,000 pounds per week, but this obviously could not meet the requirements of Nasri and his agent.

A few years ago, 100,000 pounds was a maximum salary, and only the top superstars in the Premier League were eligible to claim it. But now 100,000 pounds can no longer satisfy the top stars, especially after Manchester City introduced Cristiano Ronaldo. After superstars such as Ronaldo and Kaká, the first-tier salary in the Premier League has risen with the tide.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney caused trouble for a while, and now it's Arsenal's Nasri's turn.

If Arsenal are rumored to be paying attention to James Rodriguez at this time, it will undoubtedly put some pressure on Nasri, who has relatively similar technical characteristics, and force the other party to submit. This is also a common technique in transfer and contract renewal negotiations. , as to whether it has any effect depends on how much chips each other has.

"I heard that another Middle Eastern consortium is contacting European teams. It is said that this time it is Paris Saint-Germain of the Ligue 1." Steve Rowley said with a wry smile.

"Your news is out of date. It's not one company, but two. One is a Middle Eastern consortium and one is an Eastern European consortium. Their targets are Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco respectively. Moreover, they are not short of money." After Wenger finished speaking, he said again A long sigh.

Pat Rice also said worriedly: "With the current situation in European football, star resources are extremely scarce, and player values ​​have skyrocketed. If these two major consortiums, as well as Premier League teams including Birmingham, are successively With foreign acquisitions and the influx of large sums of money, player transfer fees may reach another peak."

Who says it's not?

Wenger remained silent, just sighing secretly in his heart.

He originally thought that Arsenal would soon have good days after surviving the difficult period of the new stadium. However, he did not expect that the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis caused the real estate project of Highbury Stadium originally planned by the management to be blocked, and the team The financial pressure is huge.

After finally getting through it, this wave of skyrocketing player values ​​immediately ushered in. What else could he say?

With the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, the European debt crisis, and the global economy in recession, big capital has still entered European professional football to avoid risks. That's why the Glazer family of Manchester United dared to ask for an asking price of three billion pounds. In normal times, Everyone thought he was crazy.

But at this time, who can say that it is unreasonable?

For a team like Arsenal, what can it do to compete with these big capital conglomerates?

Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s just talk about tonight’s game. What will the Gunners do to stop the cold Manchester City?