144 The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 2 (1/2)
Chapter 144: The Future Of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
George Wood signed an eight-year contract. Nottingham Forest's fans were happy to see that the young player had placed his future in Nottingham Forest instead of going elsewhere for money.
After settling Wood's contract, Tang En also managed to secure the purchase of another important player.
That concerned Ashley Young. When Nottingham Forest first offered five hundred thousand pounds, Watford was not moved at all. Nottingham Forest offered six hundred thousand pounds the second time, but Watford still remained unmoved.
This time, the effect of the one hundred thousand pounds which Allan Adams had given to Ashley Young finally kicked in. Ashley Young made it very clear to Watford club that he wanted them to let him go to Nottingham Forest. That was because he was currently unable to play in any matches there, and he was already eighteen years old. If he was unable to get sufficient play time on the field, he wouldn't be able to improve his skills.
After that, Tang En gave Young a call. Over the phone, Tang En promised Young that he would be given a core position on the team. At the same time, he hoped that Young would continue to cooperate with Nottingham Forest and have one or two press interviews. Publicly expressing his intentions to join Nottingham Forest would also put pressure on Watford FC.
Upon being promised a core position on the team, Ashley Young was naturally willing to do whatever Tang En told him to. One day later, in front of his house, he accepted an interview from Pearce Bruce, a reporter from the Nottingham Evening Post. The interview was mainly centred around Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain.
During the interview, Ashley Young expressed his desire to join the team under Manager Twain. He also casually talked about Nottingham Forest's five win streak in the league, and how he felt that much of the credit should go to Tony Twain. While still wearing the Watford jersey, Ashley Young had already begun to praise Nottingham Forest.
”…Nottingham Forest has a glorious history. It would be a dream come true to play for a team like that! You know that young guys like me tend to experience the greatest spikes in their abilities. So, there is a need for us to participate in more matches to gain experience. Since I'm unable to get many opportunities to play at Watford, why shouldn't I change to a different environment?”
With interviews like that being published, Watford FC could not deny that they would not be able to make the team's greatest hope stay. Now, all they could do was let the team earn as much money as possible through Ashley Young's transfer, and make up for the loss of the player by monetary means.
But Allan was unwilling to be ripped off any more. He made a final offer to Watford—seven hundred thousand pounds, and not a penny more. ”After all,” he told them, ”the player's attitude is clear for everyone to see. The rest is up to you. At worst, Nottingham Forest can just switch to another target. Seven hundred thousand can get a very good player in League One.”
Just as Nottingham Forest made their offer, Young called Watford's manager to inform him that he had just suffered an injury and would have to take one day of leave, and that he would be unable to to participate in training.
Given the situation, what more could Watford FC say? They knew full well that a coincidence like that was impossible. It must have been a collusion between Young and Nottingham Forest. But even though they had no doubt that they were right, they did not have enough proof to raise the matter to the English Football Association and FIFA.
Just like that, Nottingham Forest bought Watford's rising star, Ashley Young, with a transfer fee of seven hundred thousand pounds.
But Tang En's footsteps in the transfer market did not stop there. There was still a very big problem with the team's left and right backs. And, at the same time, because Rebrov was playing as a midfielder, there were only three people left on the team's frontline. This was evidently insufficient for the team to deal with the demands of the remaining half-season, considering the team's participation in both League One and the EFL Cup.