Chapter 650: Chapter 649: Ade is thrilled to be the top scorer, Man City’s first experience in European competition
Guardiola shook his head repeatedly, "From the contact over this period, it looks like Fabregas can’t wait three years. Even... after this season ends, if his needs aren’t met, he’ll definitely seek a transfer."
"And Arsenal will certainly make an offer for him this summer."
Feng Te: "What’s Wenger in a hurry for? Arsenal’s lineup may not be the strongest, but it’s already the most suitable for them. What does he want Fabregas for?"
Guardiola: "Wenger is preparing for a generational change. Bogkamp is thirty-four, and Pires is thirty. Arsenal’s attacking midfielders with creative power are not at their peak for much longer."
"If he can’t find a suitable person to seamlessly transition, Wenger will have to waste the latter peak years of Henry, Ljungberg, Vieira, and others."
"So he must prepare in advance. Midfielders like Fabregas, who still need two or three years to fully mature, are his best choice."
Maxa: "Then why doesn’t he grab someone like David Silva, a midfielder of the same age group?"
Guardiola: "David Silva, under Manchester City’s system, is no worse than Fabregas. But in terms of absolute attacking talent, it’s Kai and then Fabregas."
"I have to say, Wenger’s vision is still sharp."
At that moment, Deng Kai walked over and heard their discussion, "Let’s go, getting a point from London city is already not bad."
"Fabregas has always been Wenger’s type of player; this time we intercepted him, but sooner or later Wenger will take Fabregas back."
Maxa was furious: "The audacity! Fabregas belongs to Manchester City when he’s alive, and to Barcelona when he’s a corpse; what business is it of his Arsenal?"
Deng Kai nodded and quietly pointed to Vieira next to Wenger, who was being interviewed with an uncomfortable expression, "Wenger longs for my Fabregas, can’t I covet his Vieira?"
Guardiola’s eyes lit up, "Are you suggesting? When the time is right, to trade Fabregas for Vieira?"
That would be a great deal indeed.
After all, the current Vieira is considered the world’s number one defensive midfielder.
And Fabregas... four million euros?
That’s a steal.
Deng Kai shook his head.
Guardiola: "I guess I am getting a bit carried away; I reckon we’ll have to contribute an extra twenty million or so."
Deng Kai continued to shake his head: "It’s Arsenal who should be paying! It’s better if Fabregas has ambition; otherwise, I am afraid he won’t be able to handle being a substitute in both the league and European competitions, and a main player in both the EFL Cup and the FA Cup!"
"In two years at most, he will be the Premier League’s most promising midfielder, he will be the Gerrard and Lampard of these two years!"
Hiss hiss hiss!
Guardiola and the others drew in a breath of cold air.
Now they knew why Sporting Lisbon cleared a fortune back then and were willing to let Deng Kai go for free.
If a world-class midfield leader is willing to feed a player, that player is bound to thrive as long as he’s not a complete failure!
Don’t believe it? Just look at Quaresma, Viana, Kaka, Ronaldo, Drogba, Ibrahimovic, C. Ronaldo...
C. Ronaldo: ???
After this match, only Wu Xudong from Arsenal noticed Vieira’s poor mood.
Because if Fabregas is the central midfielder Wenger has always wanted.
Then what is Vieira?
...
September 20th, the sixth round of the Premier League.
Manchester City is set to face Blackburn at home.
In this match, Lahm shone brightly, providing assists for two goals.
In fact, Lahm was the main left-back for the team in the early part of last season.
It’s also because of an injury that Grosso took over his spot and took it by storm, which then left Lahm warming the bench, turning him into a super sub.
This season, Lahm has made a strong comeback, telling Ashley Young that what Grosso did - you’d better not think of doing it again.
This season, Manchester City’s main left-back, immovable as thunder, is me, Lahm!
Ashley Young: But aren’t I a winger?
Lahm: "Didn’t you realize that Coach Deng is training you to be a fullback?"
Not only did Lahm perform excellently.
Adriano scored again in this match, having scored in five consecutive rounds now.
And this time, it was two goals and one assist!
While scoring, he also provided Deng Kai with an assist.
Adriano’s six games and eight goals tied with Henry, and he took his throne as the leading scorer in the Premier League.
Furthermore, Ribery once again assisted substitute Villa.
This made Torres, who was bedridden, so anxious that he returned to the team to train the next day.
Fortunately, his injury was almost healed, so returning a day or two early was harmless.
On September 24th, many Manchester United players enjoyed a day off.
For example, Tu Lei and Essien, who had attendance rates comparable to Iron Men last season.
For instance, Desailly, who hadn’t been in good form in the previous few matches.
Like Baggio and others who had voiced to the team that they were playing too much and needed rest.
Even Chiellini was on the substitutes’ bench.
Because today was Manchester City’s first European competition match in decades!
The first leg of the first round of the Europe League!
Manchester City was up against KSC Lockrun!
It’s okay if you haven’t heard of this team. Precisely because it’s unknown, Manchester City rotated nearly half of the main players.
There was media discussion about this before the match.
Lockrun is a football club from Belgium.
In Belgium, they are considered a strong team.
But in Europe, definitely not so much.
They absolutely cannot compare to Manchester City, the "mini treble" winner of the big five European leagues.
But Manchester City was not so arrogant as to think that.
They benched five starters!
How audacious is that?
Sky Sports: "Manchester City’s first foray into Europe in several decades, and they approach it with such complacency! They may not yet understand that European competition is a different battlefield!"
Understands Soccer: "Fun fact, Deng Kai has led his team to win five Europa League titles and three Champions League titles! He has been crowned with both major European competition titles, best player, Golden Boot, and assist leader, among other grand slam honors!"
The Times: "Starting Villa, Adriano, and Ribery is not a big issue, as the attacking trio is in great form."
"But for midfield, Mascherano, who hasn’t been walked out much, and the inexperienced Fabregas might find it hard to shoulder the responsibility!"
"And in defense, a combination of Lahm, Thiago Silva, Kompany, and Maicon really does not inspire confidence."
"Especially Kompany, apart from his height, we currently don’t see what sets this young man apart from Feng Te!"
Feng Te was moved to tears.
He unilaterally declared he would subscribe to The Times permanently.
Comparing him to Kompany was the highest recognition of his current stage as Feng Te!
He even mailed twelve dishes of Chinese food to The Times editorial office, including "Kung Pao Chicken," "Boiled Fish," "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," and "Mapo Tofu," letting them enjoy the top-level culinary skills that only Coach Deng could enjoy—the twelve flavors of abundance!
Even Manchester Evening News, which has always supported Manchester City, expressed concern after seeing the list of substitutes: "Recently recovered Torres, Ashley Young who can’t beat his man, mini midfielder David Silva, unknown striker Mandzukic, underage fullback Vidal, long-unplayed Feng Te, Neuer who relies on his feet for saves..."
"Is Maxa so confident that his starting lineup can definitely dominate the opponent?"
"If the starters don’t work out, nearly none of these substitutes could be expected to make an impact!"
