329 China Sun (1/2)
When Wang Huasheng sent the draft to China, he divided the single interview into two articles.
One of the articles was briefly on the news about Nottingham Forest's interest in Sun Jihai. The other article was their conversation with Twain re-organized as an interview, which naturally included some of Wang Huasheng's own material. He stated that it was to introduce the British manager, who was very fond of and knowledgeable about China, to the Chinese readers.
Tang Jing did not say anything when she saw that he had concocted this exclusive interview on his end.
She had heard of such a thing: a certain Chinese reporter had gone to Spain and taken a photograph with a star player. When he returned, he had fabricated an exclusive interview and then sent it with the photograph back to China, where it was published in the newspaper.
In comparison, Uncle Wang had exercised restraint in his conduct.
No one would know what kind of response the report would cause in China. However, Wang Huasheng was convinced that the newspaper sales would certainly increase by a lot. A British coach, who had a lot of connections with China, was linked up with a Chinese player this time. It was worthwhile to continue following up on the hype.
He took a risk this once. It was just like when Li Xiang established a close relationship with Milutinović; the result was that she immediately became the most valuable reporter, with influence and money rolling in.
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Regardless of the uproar that that half-truth ”interview” might cause in China, Twain had forgotten about the matter the next day after he had sent the two Chinese reporters off.
Pearce had returned with an answer, but this time his answer had put Twain in an awkward situation. Pearce had agreed to loan Micah Richards to the Forest team.
Twain was embarrassed that after these days of careful deliberation, he did not want Richards.
The Forest team's defensive line was generally young: 18-year-old Piqué, 26-year-old Chimbonda, 26-year-old Matthew Upson, 20-year-old Leighton Baines, 22-year-old Pepe...
If a younger Richards were to come in, Twain felt that it would not be ideal for the defensive line, which needed experience and stability.
Therefore, after being quiet on the phone for a while, Twain still wanted to suggest to Pearce that the Forest team was very interested in Sun Jihai and he hoped that Manchester City could seriously consider the transfer arrangement of Sun Jihai.
”This puts me in an awkward position...”
When he heard Pearce say that, Twain was delighted because he knew the matter had legs. At least Pearce had not rejected it right away. It meant he had considered Sun Jihai's departure. He decided to strike while it was hot, ”Loaning Richards to us is to train him and for him to accumulate experience. Keeping him in Manchester City and giving him the main position are also training him and letting him accumulate experience. Both results are the same. I think it may be more beneficial to Richards' development if you keep him by your side.”
”Tony, this does not sound like you.”
Twain chuckled. ”I've given it serious consideration, and I think Sun Jihai is more suitable for the Forest team. Help me, Pearce. You also know that, according to Richards's growth rate, he will be able to completely replace Sun Jihai in the next two or three years. At that time, Sun Jihai's position in Manchester City will become rather tricky. And the Forest team needs him now. You can use Richards to play as the main force. Put your trust in him and the kid will repay you generously. Maybe the best young player in the new season is him.”
”The future is unclear.”
”This is a win-win situation and a good thing, Pearce. You may rest assured that the Forest team will make it up to Manchester City in the transfer fees.”
After a long silence on the other end, Twain thought Pearce was gone. Finally, the Manchester City manager spoke. ”All right, the club will send you a fax on the transfer fee. If you can accept that price, you can go and talk to Sun's agent.”
”Oh, thank you so much, Pearce!”
”If you really want to thank me, lead the team to play well in the UEFA Champions League! The Forest team has only competed in the Champions League three times and won two trophies. To return after all these years, I do not want to see a loss like the 2:7 defeat to Bayern Munich again...”
Twain knew that Pearce was referring to the 95-96 season. Nottingham Forest had returned to the European arena after eleven years and broken into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. But they were ultimately humiliated by the dominant Bundesliga team, Bayern Munich, by 7:2. Perhaps in the eyes of others, Nottingham Forest had performed well enough after they had returned to the European arena after so many years. But in the hearts of those Forest players, it was still a shame in their lives to have lost so miserably and to be so powerless to fight back even if they were facing a Bundesliga leader like Bayern.
The soul of Nottingham Forest had vanished when Brian Clough left.
”Rest assured, Pearce. Nottingham Forest is like a rock in the toilet.”
”What does that mean?” Stuart did not quite understand the Chinese allegory.
”It is smelly and hard. Those Continental European teams will have to be careful of their teeth if they think they can bully the Forest team.
Pearce paused for a second and then guffawed.
”What a good piece of smelly rock we are!”
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The next day, Manchester City Football Club sent a fax to the Nottingham Forest Football Club, starting with a price that Manchester City could accept as the transfer fee for Sun Jihai, which was four million pounds.
Originally, Manchester City had bought Sun Jihai from Dalian Shide for two million pounds, which made the highest transfer fee for a Chinese player's transfer to a foreign club. And now, apparently, as long as Tony Twain nodded his assent, Sun Jihai would once again create the highest record in value for a Chinese player.
Twain cursed Stuart Pearce's shamelessness on the inside while he nodded in agreement to the price.
For four million pounds, Nottingham Forest officially requested the purchase of Manchester City's right back and a utility player in the backfield, Sun Jihai.
Officially confirmed, this news caused a stir in China once again. Like Twain, the Chinese media knew what that price signified. No Chinese player had ever been able to command such a high price. This figure allowed Sun Jihai to be ranked among the mainstream players in the Premier League.
In the past, Chinese people always had the idea that when a Chinese player moved out of the country, he would be an outlier. Even when Sun Jihai was able to play as the main force in Manchester City, his countrymen still lacked a sense of security about him. If the Chinese media promoted how a Chinese player had made good overseas, soon a lot of people would exaggerate and believe in their own lies.
Just as the news hit the Chinese online network, many comments called the validity of the news into question. Of course, these questions could only lead to one result, which was quarrels and abuse between different regions in China. This characteristic was global, not just unique to China. It was the same as how Northerners in Britain thought that the Southerners were fools, and Southerners thought that the Northerners were hillbillies and uncivilized buffoons.