205 Get Ready Part 2 (2/2)

With a team that was able to compete in Europe wanting him to join, the Australian would naturally not refuse. Between Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, choosing a team was hardly worth hesitation. Upon learning that the Forest team had raised its offer a second time, Mark Viduka immediately notified his agent to terminate negotiations with Middlesbrough regarding his contract and to wait for Leeds United to respond to Nottingham Forest. He believed that the club, which was in a financial crisis, would not reject the opportunity to sell him without losing a penny, and Leeds United would have made a profit: four years ago, when Mark Viduka had transferred from the Scottish Premiership's Celtic F.C. to Leeds United, the latter had spent six million pounds.

As per his expectation, the Leeds United team had no reason to refuse the offer. They agreed to allow the Forest team and Mark Viduka to further negotiate individual salary and benefits. Things had progressed very smoothly up to this point. Three days later, Nottingham Forest's official website updated their transfer news again. The Australian national footballer, the famous striker Mark Viduka, appeared on the latest transfer list.

The fans cheered when Mark Viduka joined, as he had amply proved himself in the Premier League for the past four seasons. Everyone believed that his arrival on the Forest team would improve the team's attacking power and, at the same time, provide valuable experience to the young Forest team's frontline.

Allan was very pleased with the deal as well. Mark Viduka's popularity in Australia was comparable to Kewell's, and his long experience of playing in the English Premier League had made quite an impact in the United Kingdom. A power striker like him was sure to be more newsworthy and produce faster results than Bendtner and Piqué.

The excited marketing manager even had the team magazine cover all figured out. They would use the photographs of four players: Viduka, Hierro, Albertini, and Eastwood. The first three players were new to the team this summer and were quite prestigious. Eastwood's selection was necessary to please the fans; the Romani Gypsy was ”the most popular player” selected by the Forest fans last season.

After buying Viduka, Twain told Evan and Allan that he had no need to buy another player in the transfer market. Except for those players who were determined to leave the team and were not in his plan, the Forest team's lineup had essentially been fixed. If any problems were to be found during the league championships, then they could adjust when the winter transfer window opened.

Nottingham Forest, which had just been promoted to the English Premier League, had burned through 12.42 million pounds in less than two months. Still, Tang En did not think that they had spent much money. He felt that every cent was spent on necessary areas, and that the strength of the team had already dramatically changed compared to six months ago.

After confirming the halting of all transfer activities, Twain brought together all the players whom he had bought over the summer and held a press conference and a meet-and-greet with the fans.

He stood in the middle. On his left were the former Spanish national team captain, Fernando Hierro; the Barcelona youth team's main center back, Gerard Piqué; the Frenchman, Pascal Chimbonda; and the center back from Birmingham City, Matthew Upson. On his right were the former Italian national footballer, Demetrio Albertini; the young player, Aaron Lennon; the Danish star player, Nicklas Bendtner; the unknown French player, Franck Ribéry; and the Australian striker, Mark Viduka, the latest to join the team.

Some of these players were veterans with rich experience that had won countless championships. Some were strong, outstanding star players of their time, and some were young players who represented the future and hope.

Surrounded by these players and faced by the cameras held up by the reporters, Twain grinned with delight under the continual flashing lights of the cameras.

This was his team. Every player was bought according to his exact wishes. With these players, he could look forward to much more. They did not only want to maintain their position in the Premier League; the Forest team's goal was more ambitious than anyone could imagine.