The Greatest Manager of All time

After the final stage of the selection tournament ended, Lynn prepared to present the award.

At that moment, Joseph Levin came to his side and whispered, "Gareth Bale came with his school team, but his parents are here too. His father works as a caretaker at a school in Cardiff, and his mother is an employee at a law firm."

Lynn suddenly stopped.

He turned back and, for the first time, looked Joseph Levin over seriously.

This young man, who looked close to Lynn's age, was handsome and gave off the impression of someone gentle. But the way he handled things made Lynn feel that he had something special about him.

Because Joseph had not only found out who Gareth Bale had come with, but had also roughly figured out his parents' situation. All of that was information Lynn needed.

"Good work, Levin."

Lynn praised him.

Levin smiled. "Please call me Joseph, Boss."

"Fine. Joseph."

Lynn walked toward the young players and came to Gareth Bale. Looking at Bale, who was wiping away sweat after the match, Lynn called his name.

"Hey, Gareth."

Bale turned around to face Lynn. He gave a shy smile. With those big ears of his, he looked a little cute right now, and really did resemble a little monkey.

Lynn took the certificate and trophy from Tony Benn behind him, then handed them to Gareth Bale with a smile.

"Congratulations. You're the champion. Your performance was unforgettable."

Gareth Bale took the trophy and certificate, his smile growing even brighter.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

Lynn put an arm around Gareth Bale, then faced Linda Lawless, the female host from Swansea's official TV channel, letting the official channel record the scene.

After that, he chatted briefly with Gareth Bale, encouraged him to keep pursuing his football dream, and then walked toward Gareth Bale's parents.

Bale's parents were still immersed in the pleasant surprise of their son winning the tournament and receiving the prize money. When Lynn came over, they acted especially respectful. Bale's father said, "Mr. Lynn, thank you very much for Swansea organizing an event like this. We're very happy Gareth was able to take part. He's happy, and so are we."

Lynn smiled and went straight to the point.

"I wonder whether you'd be interested in letting Bale come to Swansea for football training.

"I know you must have concerns. If you understand Swansea, then you'll know my way of doing things. When I like a player, I sincerely consider everything for him from the bottom of my heart, without holding anything back. That includes his family.

"These are the conditions Swansea can provide. If Bale comes to Swansea for football training, the club will provide him with free football training and cover his school fees. We will also provide you with a free apartment, along with job opportunities. When Bale turns sixteen, we will sign a formal professional contract with him."

Bale's parents froze, then immediately looked troubled.

They knew Lynn was generous. They also knew Swansea was now very wealthy.

But no one could say for certain what would happen in the future.

They would have to resign from their current jobs and move to Swansea. Bale would turn twelve next month. Who could guarantee that four years later, Swansea's owner would still be Lynn?

And who could guarantee that Bale would still be this outstanding in four years, instead of becoming ordinary?

There were too many uncertainties in the future. A decision made now definitely could not be made carelessly.

They told Lynn their concerns, and Lynn said to them, "I completely understand your worries.

"First, Swansea already has its own successful system for developing young players. Last season, we won the league title with the youngest squad in the league. Every young player who came to our club made clear progress. I believe that coming to Swansea is the best choice for Bale at this stage.

"Now, let's talk about guarantees.

"I have full confidence in Bale. After watching him play and seeing the talent he showed, I won't leave myself a way out. So, I can sign a contract with you in the club's name. Five years, ten years, either is fine.

"If we don't sign Bale four years from now, then that counts as our breach of contract. Paying £1 million in compensation would be no problem. Of course, tricks like signing him and then immediately terminating the contract to exploit a loophole will also be written into the contract as a Swansea breach!"

Bale's parents were stunned.

They had never expected Lynn to be so determined about Bale, and even willing to sign such an astonishing contract!

But that also proved what Lynn had said earlier. His sincerity and lack of reservation were real!

Behind the risk of signing such a contract and making such a commitment was Lynn's sincerity, as well as a kind of guarantee: Swansea would definitely focus on developing Bale. Otherwise, the contract they signed would only bring them a huge loss!

With that, Bale's parents no longer had any worries. They only said they needed some time to think about it.

Lynn said they were welcome to bring Bale to Swansea at any time.

After the Bale family left, Lynn also prepared to go. Just as he walked toward the players' tunnel, Joseph Levin followed him and asked, "Boss, should we go after the Bale family while the timing is still good?"

Lynn stopped at the entrance to the players' tunnel and looked at Joseph Levin curiously.

"Joseph, why are you so proactive?"

Levin asked in surprise, "I'm the senior gofer. Did I overstep? Is this not something I should care about? If that's the case, Boss, I won't do it again."

Lynn shook his head slightly.

"No, that's not it. It's just that too many people only do their assigned work step by step. They don't care about anything outside their responsibilities, or they deliberately ignore certain tasks to reduce their own burden. You, on the other hand, seem like you want to do more."

Levin smiled, bright and sunny.

"Because I came here to work. I'm part of Swansea."

Lynn smiled in satisfaction.

"If everyone had your awareness, that would be great. Go do it, then. As long as it benefits the club, you're free to act. Senior gofer, hahaha. Call me after work. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

"Will you take me to a nightclub?"

Joseph Levin's question surprised Lynn again.

Seeing that Lynn took a while to respond, Levin said, "After work, of course I want to relax. I heard Boss knows Swansea's food, drink, and entertainment scene better than anyone. I really hope Boss can take me out for a wild night."

Lynn rubbed his chin and said, "Fine. I'll take you out for a wild night. But that'll take a bit of effort. After work, we'll fly to Paris. On the other side of the Channel, no one will recognize me, so I can relax properly. It just so happens that all club staff are off tomorrow. We can come back tomorrow night."

Now it was Joseph Levin's turn to be surprised.

"Can we really?"

Lynn smiled and nodded, then leaned closer to him and whispered, "Tony and Emlyn both have families, and they're about forty. They can't keep up with that kind of thing anymore. It's rare for the club to have someone around my age. I want to relax a little too. Heh."

"Haha, I understand, I understand. Then I'll see you after work."

Lynn smiled and turned away.

He returned to his office.

Swansea's recruitment work also had to begin at the same time.

He needed to prepare two transfer lists.

One was for Swansea's own recruitment, while the other was for the new club.

Throughout the previous season, Swansea had been hiring constantly.

If they were not hiring scouts, they were hiring new coaches. They also needed people like senior administrators, because the club's scale was constantly expanding, the number of facilities was increasing, and they needed more staff.

Half a year ago, Swansea's scouting network had already begun penetrating Africa and South America.

Because of the Premier League's work permit restrictions, there were many non-EU players the club could not sign. Non-European players strong enough to represent their national teams would never come to Swansea, while non-European players with huge potential were blocked by work permits and could not come to Swansea either.

That was why Lynn needed a new club to collect these player resources.

Whether for commercial considerations or future squad-building, such a measure was necessary.

Inside his office, Lynn locked the door, stood in front of his desk, and opened the PES Card System.

He brought up the scouting network interface.

A virtual projection appeared in front of him. On the world map, the European continent was basically filled with dense points of light, while Africa and South America had slightly fewer glowing points.

Lynn began reviewing the scouting results one by one, going through them by country and region.

This was an enormous workload, because there were too many players!

It was no exaggeration to say that more than ninety-five percent of them were useless players.

Although there were still many excellent young prospects around the world, the main limitation was the club's appeal. For example, a young Carrick came from West Ham's academy, and he certainly would not rashly transfer away. Cambiasso, meanwhile, had been loaned back to South America, but he still belonged to Real Madrid. He also would not easily leave Spain's football temple.

Swansea's current squad was already fairly complete, and there were not many areas that needed strengthening. Lynn cared more about continuity and stability in squad-building.

Before this group of players reached the point where their potential had fully transformed into ability, he did not want to rashly give up on anyone.

Besides, next season the team would only be playing in the Second Division, not the Premier League.

There was no need for him to rush into signing more famous players. Doing so would only increase the club's operating costs too early.

In terms of Swansea's recruitment, he locked onto only one player: German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who was currently at Aston Villa.

This nineteen-year-old German player came from Bayern Munich's youth system, but had moved to English football at a young age. He had not yet received enough opportunities at Aston Villa, and the club was currently looking to loan him out.

If Swansea could seize the chance to sign him, then the team's strength would improve. This player's potential and current ability were both good.

He could enrich Swansea's midfield options and tactical play.

Lynn settled Swansea's main transfer target for the summer: Thomas Hitzlsperger.

Then he drew up another recruitment list.

Seventeen-year-old Argentine forward Carlos Tevez, currently in Boca Juniors' youth team.

Nineteen-year-old Serbian center-back Nemanja Vidic, currently playing for Red Star Belgrade.

Seventeen-year-old Argentine defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano, currently in River Plate's youth team.

Cruzeiro's Brazilian full-back Maicon, who was about to turn twenty.

And nineteen-year-old center-back Bruno Alves, currently in Porto B.

Six players in total. Not too many, but not too few either.

This work did not look like much on paper, but it had taken Lynn three whole hours.

Slightly drained, he closed the card system, then walked out of the office and found that he had two missed calls on his phone. Both were from Joseph Levin.

He called Levin back.

"Boss, were you messing with me?"

"Heh, no. I was working just now. My phone was on silent. I've finished work now. Where are you?"

"I called you an hour ago and you didn't answer. I thought you were joking with me, so I went to eat by myself."

"You still haven't answered my question. Where are you? I'll come find you, then we'll go to Cardiff and fly to Paris. First class."

"Wow! Really? You're paying, right?"

"Of course!"

"Okay. I'm eating on Princess Way, east of the Quadrant Shopping Centre. Actually, I won't keep eating. I'll wait for you."

Lynn hung up and smiled while shaking his head.

For some reason, he had a very good impression of Joseph Levin. Perhaps it was because most of the club staff were over thirty-five. Aside from work, Lynn did not have many shared topics with them. That was a typical generation gap.

Joseph Levin's appearance seemed to inject fresh energy into Lynn.

Before heading out, Lynn called Mo Yuan, then gave Will Taylor a call as well and invited him along.

The three of them each drove their own car and met up. Lynn picked up Joseph Levin on Princess Way, accompanied him to collect his passport, and then the four of them went to Cardiff Airport together.

On the way to Paris, Lynn and Will Taylor finalized the new club matter in the plane's first-class cabin.

Among the acquisition targets Lynn had given Will Taylor, Will had considered all the factors and ultimately chose Toulouse.

Because the cost of acquiring this club was not high!

Compared with the other clubs, which required a traditional acquisition process, Toulouse's current problem was financial difficulty. The situation was so severe that the French Football Federation had already ordered Toulouse to be relegated!

Unless someone took over the club now, guaranteed the club could pay the wages owed to the players, and paid a certain guarantee deposit, Toulouse would not be allowed to remain in Ligue 1.

The total cost would only be around £3 million.

Will Taylor decided to acquire Toulouse, and Lynn had no objection. He only reminded him that he had to build a professional management team!