844 A Letter from The United Kingdom (1/2)

”Aaron Mitchell! A beautiful bypass to shake off the defense. He swings past the goalkeeper who strikes and sends the football into the empty goal! The ball's in! Nottingham Forest leads Lyon 2:0 at home. They have basically reached the final!”

The televisions in the home electronics section of the supermarket were showing the live broadcast of tonight's Champions League semifinal game. There were not many people watching the game there because the semifinal game had nothing to do with their national team. The people who came to shop at the supermarket just glanced at it and left. Only one person stood in front of the television the entire time, watching the game.

Chen Jian forgot that today was the Champions League game at Nottingham Forest when he went out. He wanted to buy some daily necessities at the supermarket. However, he accidentally wandered to the home electronics section and did not move.

He had not watched a game at Nottingham Forest in a long time. He was in the Netherlands and only cared about the team he played for. Nottingham Forest was too far away from him.

He did not expect to encounter his mother team in the supermarket today.

So, he stopped to watch the Forest game.

He started from the 11th minute of the first half and stood to watch until now. The Forest team was 2 points ahead of Lyon, and he was going to stop watching. Nottingham Forest was certain to make it to the finals. There was no sign of Lyon turning the tables throughout the game. There was no suspense in the game and no need to continue watching.

Chen Jian carried the stuff he had just bought and turned to leave here. The televisions were still playing the clamor from the City Ground Stadium. That sound faded into the distance, and soon Chen Jian could not hear it.

Name: Chen Jian.

Nationality: China.

Age: Twenty-three.

On-field position: Midfielder, defensive midfielder, right back.

Current team: FC Volendam, Netherlands.

He was loaned out to Volendam from Nottingham Forest two seasons ago when Volendam was still in Eerste Divisie.

In fact, Chen Jian was not a player needed by Volendam. At the time, Volendam needed strikers and defenders, not midfielders. Chen Jian was basically forced onto Volendam by the Forest team because Volendam was the Forest team's satellite club. As Chen Jian had occasionally played as a right-back, he was also barely in line with Volendam's needs.

Due to this, he did not have a good time at Volendam at first. Or it could be said that he did not receive much attention at all. On the one hand, he was forced onto Volendam by the mother team. On the other hand, because he was Chinese, and as a player not from a country with developed football, his nationality worked against him.

Therefore, in the Eerste Divisie team, he could only play for a few minutes occasionally during garbage time to fulfill Volendam's playing requirement for players on loan. Furthermore, he could only play in the right-back position which he was not very good at. He did not play very well. This strengthened the resolve of those who did not like him. Even the Chinese media gradually lost interest in him, and there was rarely news about him in the Chinese media. Chen Jian, who was originally a member of the ”European Champions Team” quickly lost the shine and had little news value.

Chen Jian spent the first half of the season under such circumstances. The change in his fortune came when there were wide-spread injuries in the midfield. He was finally remembered by the manager that he could play midfield...

It was his first time in the starting lineup. More than two years later, Chen Jian could not remember the details of the game, but he still remembered that he was named the best player after the game.

He showed a remarkable intelligence during his performance in the midfield. His defense was clean and timely, and his offense was organized. Players who could keep a clear head on the pitch were rare, especially at the Eerste Divisie level.

Since then, Chen Jian's position changed. He became Volendam's main midfielder step by step. He returned to Nottingham Forest at the end of the first season. Following which, Volendam's transfer application was sent over. But after Twain saw a video of his game in the Netherlands, he rebuffed Volendam's transfer request then said he could continue to put him on loan to them.

In this way, Chen Jian returned to the Netherlands when he did not even have time to end the lease to his rented apartment in the Netherlands.

The second season was a cause for celebration for Volendam. The team was successfully promoted to Eredivisie through a season of hard work. Because of Chen Jian's excellent performance, they once again applied to the Forest team to purchase Chen Jian. Twain refused once more and said that he could continue to loan Chen Jian to them.

Then came Chen Jian's third season with the team…

He had not even played a game for Nottingham Forest since he officially became a member of the team. He had never worn a Nottingham Forest jersey. It was accurate to say that he had a little sense of belonging to the Forest team.

As the season entered its final phase, he had to consider his future again. He and the club signed a four-year contract at the time. Three years later, there was still a year left. Where would he go after a year?

Volendam placed a lot of importance on him and hoped he could transfer to the team. Just a day earlier, the Volendam director had approached him and asked about the Forest team. He told Chen Jian indirectly if he was always on loan, the team could not determine and revolve the tactics around him. His position within the team would never be confirmed.

”No team can use a player on loan as the core. You are very talented, and it has been three seasons. You fit very well with our tactics, and there's a high level of tacit understanding. We all love you, but...”

He did not need to say the next sentence and, Chen Jian could understand the meaning. The director was right. If the situation continued, Volendam would have to abandon him. This season, Volendam was stuck in an awkward situation of relegation, and this had a lot to do with Chen Jian's ambiguous status.

After two seasons of hard work, Chen Jian had proved his ability and gradually became the midfield core of the small team, Volendam. But it was not a good thing for Volendam because they could not make long-term plans. They could only play one season and see how it went for the next. How could the team do well in this way?

He was also a little lost. What should he do?

He felt satisfied with being able to play in the professional league in the past. But when he really played in the professional league, he wanted more and was unwilling to be a flash in the pan. He wanted to stay in this circle. He hoped to receive a stable environment that neither Nottingham Forest nor Volendam could give him now.

He considered whether he should have given Manager Tony Twain an ultimatum and leave Nottingham Forest to go to a team that could provide him with this kind of environment. He had done well at Volendam. Several teams in Eredivisie and Belgian First Division A had asked his agent if he wanted a change of environment.

He also hesitated about this matter. It was reasonable to say that Nottingham Forest gave him patronage. If it wasn't for Nottingham Forest, he would now be a security guard somewhere in China, rather than playing professional football to the cheers of the fans at least once a week.

But it was obvious that he could not go on like this...

Chen Jian was troubled by these problems. He had been a little absent-minded lately, and the manager had hinted that he would not make the cut for the starting lineup in the next game.

It was at this time that he happened to see the Forest team's game in the supermarket, and the red jersey which he had not seen in a while, distracted him a little.

These guys were his teammates, but they had received a lot of glory while he was still adrift and not knowing where home was.

The next day, Chen Jian went to the training base to take part in the training and was called by the manager to talk alone. His words were the same as the director. He hoped Chen Jian could consider putting pressure on the club to transfer to Volendam. Although the situation of Volendam looking to avoid relegation seemed precarious this season, as long as Chen Jian transferred over, they could have a long-term plan, and it would not be difficult to return to Eredivisie.

That was what the manager said, but it was unclear how much credibility he could place in his words.