Chapter 21: Buying new Players

*** Join my Patreon for more than 20 Advance Chapters , and my other stories for only 7$ Link is Below. Remove space after http. https:// www.patreon.com/c/Virtuosso777?redirect=true *** After a satisfying Italian meal, Arthur felt ready to take on the world. He had eaten enough pasta to feed an entire football team, and now it was time to tackle the next big task: checking on his players. It had been a good day so far. He'd already activated the Talent Redemption Cards for Adebayor, Tevez, Sneijder, and Milner. Now, with his stomach full and his mind clear, Arthur decided to check the system to see how those changes had worked out. He was curious about the progress of his star players, so he summoned the system with a click. The results? Pretty impressive, to say the least. Sneijder had been promoted to S-level. Adebayor had jumped to A+, and Tevez, just like Sneijder, had earned the coveted S-level status. Arthur grinned at the screen. His players were looking sharp. Of course, there was a little catch. These players' peak periods were limited to just 1-3 years. But Arthur wasn't sweating it. As long as they hit their peak while they were playing for Leeds United, he was golden. The rest of their careers could be someone else's problem. With that problem out of the way, Arthur turned his attention to a bigger issue—preparing for next season. If everything went as planned, Leeds United would be promoted to the Premier League, and Arthur needed to make sure they were ready for the challenges that lay ahead. The Championship was child's play compared to the Premier League. The competition was fierce, and the league was divided into multiple factions, each with its own set of stars, world-class coaches, and deep pockets. The influx of money into the Premier League had turned it into a battleground for the best of the best. Arthur knew that Leeds United, as it stood, wasn't nearly strong enough to compete with the top dogs. They had a long way to go. But that wasn't the only challenge. Starting next season, Leeds would also be competing in the FA Cup. The extra games meant more fatigue, and Arthur wasn't sure his current lineup would hold up. And then, of course, there was the matter of selling off a few players. Arthur needed to make some money, and he had already identified a few guys he was ready to part with. But as he thought about the upcoming FA Cup, Arthur couldn't help but curse Blackwell, the old coach from a previous regime, for his disastrous handling of the competition. Blackwell had chosen to completely throw away the FA Cup during the first round. Instead of fielding a competitive team, he had pressed the "rest the main guys" button and sent out a bunch of backups, including Howard, who was loaded with Buffon's experience card. The result? Leeds United got absolutely destroyed 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers. It was a total embarrassment. Arthur wasn't going to make the same mistake. He knew better than to underestimate the FA Cup, even if it was just a secondary competition. It was a chance for glory, and he was determined not to waste it. But there were still more pressing matters to deal with. Arthur opened the system's club interface and started going through the club's finances. Before the winter transfer window, Leeds had 6 million euros in liquidity. After making some smart moves, like selling Howard to Bates for 15 million euros and bringing in Schmeichel and Kompany, Arthur had managed to increase the club's cash flow. In total, he'd made a profit of 8.7 million euros. With the current financial status in mind, Arthur was pleased to see that the system's numbers were looking pretty solid. As of now, Leeds had a liquidity of 15.38 million euros. He knew that the four players he planned to sell had a combined liquidation penalty of around 110 million euros. If he played his cards right, Arthur was hoping to sell them for top dollar, which would give him about 130 million euros to work with before next season. After accounting for the 80 million euros in debt, Arthur estimated that he'd have around 50 million euros in startup funds for the next season. "Man, this is getting rich," Arthur muttered under his breath. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of the massive funds he'd be working with. Leeds United was going to be rolling in money. With a financial foundation like that, Arthur could afford to dream big. But now it was time for the fun part. Arthur grabbed a thick stack of scout reports from his desk, flipping through them to see what kind of players were available. He needed to find some future stars, players who could boost his squad's depth and give them the competitive edge in the Premier League. His first stop was South America, where he'd set his sights on a promising young striker from Colombia—Radamel Falcao. At just 19 years old, Falcao was about to sign his first professional contract with River Plate. Arthur had a hunch that he could snatch up this future goal-scoring machine for under 1.5 million euros. That would be a steal. Falcao would go on to break the Ligue 1 transfer record with a 60 million euro move to Monaco, but for now, Arthur could get him on the cheap. Next on Arthur's radar was a more established striker—Dimitar Berbatov, a 24-year-old Bulgarian forward who was starting to make waves at Leverkusen. Berbatov had been through a rough patch in previous seasons, but he was showing signs of life again. It wasn't until he joined Manchester United in 2008 that he reached the peak of his career, but Arthur was eyeing him now while his value was still relatively low. At just 10 million euros, Berbatov was a steal. Arthur could bring him in, boost his performance with a Talent Redemption Card, and then turn a nice profit by selling him to Ferguson when the time was right. "Now this is what I call a plan," Arthur thought to himself, making a mental note of these two players. Berbatov would provide immediate depth for the squad, while Falcao was a long-term investment. With his scouting reports lined up and his financial strategy in place, Arthur felt confident about Leeds United's future. As he leaned back in his chair and surveyed the reports, Arthur couldn't help but chuckle. "I might just be the smartest manager in football history," he mused. "And the richest." Arthur had his eyes set on building a Premier League powerhouse, and he wasn't about to let anything—or anyone—stop him. After a few cups of coffee and a solid breakfast that mostly consisted of toast and the vague hope that it was "healthy," Arthur got straight to work. He opened the system, reviewing his plans for the transfer window. His mind raced as he thought about who to bring in to strengthen the squad. Sneijder and Milner had both been playing phenomenally, but Arthur had a couple of ideas to make the team even better. He had already activated the Talent Redemption Cards for a few players, but now it was time to bring in some fresh blood. For Sneijder, he planned to replace him with the defensive wizard that was Javier Mascherano. Mascherano was sitting at an S-level in the system, and the price? Ridiculously cheap. A mere 8 million euros, which, to Arthur, felt like he was practically stealing the guy. And then there was the Ivorian powerhouse, Yaya Touré, who was playing for Metallurg Donetsk. At just 1.5 million euros, Yaya was a bargain. He'd already shown signs of his potential, and Arthur could easily see him sliding right into the team. There was no way Arthur was going to let a talent like that slip away. Now, the defense needed a little love too. Arthur had set his sights on Gerard Piqué, who was still with Manchester United at the time. The kid was only 18, but his potential was sky-high. Sure, Piqué wasn't quite the finished product yet, but Arthur figured he could offer him a rotation spot and maybe even a starting position in a 3-center-back setup. Knowing how young Piqué was, he doubted he'd turn down such an opportunity. Who wouldn't want to play in a setup with this kind of future? Altogether, Arthur had calculated that he could grab all five of these players for about 25 million euros. A solid chunk of change, but one he was confident would be worth it. Of course, he wasn't about to stop there. Leeds would need some extra depth for next season, especially with a two-front battle ahead. So, Arthur decided to budget around 10 million euros for the bench, making sure the squad had solid backup. He also earmarked about 5 million euros for youth development, bringing in some future stars for the long-term goals. Champions League, anyone? With all of this in mind, Arthur was feeling pretty good about things. After making all the calculations, he realized that after those purchases, he would still have about 10 million euros in liquidity. That was more than enough to keep Leeds running smoothly for the next season, especially with the future income that would inevitably come from their growing fanbase and sponsorships. "Not bad," Arthur thought, nodding to himself. "Not bad at all." After wrapping up his thoughts and double-checking everything, Arthur decided it was time to hit the hay. There was still so much work to do, and the transfer window wasn't going to wait for him. He switched off the system, yawned, and climbed into bed. It had been a long day, but Arthur knew tomorrow would be just as packed. When you're building a football dynasty, sleep was for the weak. Or at least, that's what Arthur told himself as he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Premier League glory. The next morning, Arthur was already in "work mode" before most people had even gotten out of bed. He rolled out of bed, threw on a simple shirt and jeans (because he wasn't about to show up in a suit—he wasn't some corporate banker), and made his way to the Leeds United base. His first stop? The office, naturally. Arthur needed to talk to Allen. "Allen," Arthur said, sitting behind his desk and looking at the man like he had all the answers to life's greatest mysteries. "I need you to take this list and give it to the scouts. I want them to contact these players and see what they think." Allen, ever the professional, walked over, took the list from Arthur, and gave it a quick glance. There was a brief moment of silence. Allen furrowed his brow. "Uh, boss," he began, a little unsure. "We don't have much liquidity right now, and our loan is about to expire. Do you think it's the right time to be planning player purchases? I mean, we're a bit tight on cash..." Arthur let out a long, drawn-out sigh. He could already tell where this was going. "Allen, buddy," he said, giving the man a smile that could only be described as "too cool for school." "You don't need to worry about that. Just follow my plan, alright? Trust me, we've got this under control." Allen hesitated for a second but then nodded, clearly sensing that Arthur had it all figured out. "Got it, boss. I'll get right on it." Arthur leaned back in his chair, satisfied with how things were going. He watched as Allen took the list and headed out of the office. But then, just as Allen was about to close the door behind him, Arthur called out, "Oh, Allen—one more thing." Allen poked his head back in the door. "Yeah?" "Keep an eye on your email, alright?" Arthur said with a smirk. "If we keep winning like this, I'm sure we'll be getting plenty of offers for our players soon. Wouldn't want you to miss out on a golden opportunity." Allen raised an eyebrow but gave a nod. "Sure thing, boss. I'll keep an eye on it." With that, Allen walked out of the office, leaving Arthur to settle back into his chair. Arthur had a feeling things were about to get very interesting. With the team winning, the money coming in, and the transfer plans ready to go, he could already see the Premier League crown glimmering on the horizon. But for now, he had a few more details to iron out. And as always, he had the perfect plan in place. "Let's go make some magic happen," Arthur muttered to himself with a grin, looking out the window at the bright future ahead of him.