"I want to play in the Premier League!"
When Jonathan Howson said this during an interview with The Daily Telegraph, his intention to leave Leeds United beca abundantly clear.
At the sa ti, he remotely submitted an oral transfer request to Leeds United, hoping the club would start listening to offers from other teams instead of shutting the door on negotiations entirely.
This quickly stirred controversy in Leeds.
Many Leeds United fans were disappointed by Howson's stance. The club had already shown enough commitnt to him.
To keep him, they had even sold last season's main central defender and forr captain Naylor. And now he wanted to leave simply because the club didn't agree to a £25,000 weekly wage?
Was money really that important to him?
Jonathan Howson's agent, Paul Stretford, also gave an interview, publicly stating that his client had lost confidence in Leeds United's ambition to gain promotion and wanted to showcase himself on a bigger stage.
"He hopes to play in next year's Olympics and eventually make the national team!"
That reason was fair and understandable.
People seek higher ground, and water flows downhill.
But it was sothing else Stretford said that truly infuriated Leeds United fans.
"I hope Leeds United can consider the offers from other clubs with sincerity."
What did that an?
Translated, it ant: We're desperate to leave. Please don't ask for too much money and block our transfer.
Of course, Leeds fans were furious.
You're encouraging our academy player and future captain to leave, and now you expect us to sell him cheap?
Is there such a thing in this world?
Leeds United CEO Fernando Lucas soon responded. He accepted an exclusive interview with the Yorkshire Post, during which he first addressed the team's sumr transfer window and made it clear the work was still ongoing.
"We've seen that many in the dia and our fans are focused on our recruitnt, but I want to clarify that the players we've brought in so far are primarily young and developntal. They're not imdiately ready to compete at the highest level."
Lucas explained that these players were intended to strengthen the club's future, especially the second team and U18 squad. At the sa ti, Leeds United was actively working with local academies and amateur clubs to scout talented young players and expand their youth ranks.
"When we took over, there were only eleven players between the reserve team and the U18s. That was not only in violation of regulations, but it went against Leeds United's long-standing commitnt to youth developnt. So, we had to strengthen our youth system imdiately."
Lucas stressed that this couldn't be fixed overnight.
The club's current focus was to build up the youth and reserve teams first.
"We're filling the historical gap."
Lucas's words were full of bitterness and realism.
Any fan who truly cared about Leeds United wouldn't deny that the club had been in shambles for years—both at the senior and youth levels.
When you inherit a ss, surely you need so ti to clean it up?
At the end of the interview, Lucas expressed his high regard for Jonathan Howson, a national youth team midfielder.
"I've spoken with our new head coach, Sarri. He plans to build the midfield around Jonathan Howson. That's why we persuaded forr captain Naylor to retire. But unfortunately, his agent has asked for a very high salary, which is sothing we'll need to discuss further."
Finally, Lucas confird that the club had not yet received a formal written transfer request from Howson. But he was confident they could convince him to stay.
"Yes, we have great confidence in him. He has the potential to beco a player like Lampard."
…
Lucas's interview helped bridge the gap between managent and the fans emotionally. He explained the club's current struggles while showing a clear vision for the future. Most importantly, fans could sense his determination to run the club properly.
As for Jonathan Howson, Lucas had one consistent ssage.
Not for sale! He will stay at Leeds United!
This stance only reinforced the belief that Leeds United was determined to hold onto their young midfield star, and that Howson had real value.
After all, even in the Championship, the pressure was intense. And Howson had delivered a double-double performance.
That kind of stat speaks louder than anything.
Lucas also confird that many Premier League teams were paying attention to him, prompting further investigation by the dia.
Soon, reporters found Mark Hughes, head coach of newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.
The forr Manchester City boss publicly stated that he was optimistic about Howson's future and was pushing the club to raise their offer to land the future England international midfielder.
Blackburn manager Steve Kean also admitted he was monitoring Howson, though he claid the transfer details were being handled by the club and he wasn't directly involved.
Aston Villa head coach Alex McLeish expressed admiration for Howson, saying he was a very promising attacking midfielder who could thrive in the Premier League.
McLeish also revealed his interest in Manchester City's Stephen Ireland, though that transfer was expected to cost more than eight figures. Ireland was one of the rare technically-gifted English midfielders.
Outside Old Trafford, a reporter caught up with Sir Alex Ferguson, who had just finished a eting. They asked about Manchester United's sumr transfer window and, by chance, about Jonathan Howson.
"I know this young man. He's done very well in the Championship. I think he's very similar to Lampard, and I believe he has a bright future."
With multiple Premier League clubs now showing interest in Howson, Ferguson's public praise only added fuel to the fire.
Gao Shen's earlier praise was reported secondhand. But now Ferguson was complinting him directly. Could there be any higher recognition?
So dia even speculated that Manchester United were preparing to make a move.
anwhile, Jonathan Howson's formal written transfer request was submitted to the club.
As he left Elland Road, the local academy graduate was interviewed by a Yorkshire Post reporter and said that he made the decision after careful thought.
But many fans booed him on the spot.
Three days later, Leeds United officially announced that, despite the club's best efforts to keep him, Jonathan Howson had chosen to leave and had completed a transfer to Queens Park Rangers for a record £10 million fee.
In West London, QPR and their fans celebrated wildly. They had finally landed the "next Lampard!"
The following day, Leeds United announced that they had purchased the rights to Corinthians midfielder Paulinho, a 23-year-old, from Brazilian investnt group Cobuyingla for €1.5 million.
Although Paulinho was well-known in Brazil, he had not yet been capped by the national team. Leeds United said they would apply for a work permit under special exemption rules.
At the sa ti, Leeds United acquired 20-year-old midfielder Allan Marques Loureiro, who had been on loan at Vasco da Gama, from Uruguayan club Maldonado for €500,000.
Like Paulinho, this was another case of third-party ownership. The player had been loaned back to Brazil before being signed.
…
During this ti, Gao Shen remained at his ho in Wetherby, north of Leeds, overseeing everything remotely.
He was very satisfied with Fernando Lucas's first major operation.
As a top economics graduate, capital maneuvering was Lucas's forte.
More importantly, by selling Jonathan Howson at such a high price, Leeds United fans were able to accept the outco, especially since the player had personally asked to leave. As long as the team performs well in the future, fans would quickly forget about him.
As for Howson, Gao Shen didn't rember him ever doing anything particularly outstanding.
What?
The future Lampard handpicked by Gao Shen?
He couldn't recall ever saying that.
That must've been the dia twisting things!
The dia these days have no moral standards!
But now, a bigger problem had arisen.
In the midst of bargain hunting, he had overlooked the matter of work permits.
Paulinho was ready to contribute and ca from Brazil. He had even played with Ronaldo. With Bernstein—an old friend—now chairman of the FA, it shouldn't be too difficult to get him approved.
But Mané, Salah, and Brozović also required work permits. That would be a bit tricky.
Fortunately, players like Allan had Portuguese nationality, Navas had sufficient international appearances, and Jorginho held Italian citizenship. So there were no issues there.
"Looks like I'll need to make a trip to London to have dinner with Bernstein," Gao Shen said cheerfully.
A happy kind of problem.
This sort of thing is best handled quietly, with as little attention as possible.
Thinking this through, Gao Shen glanced up at Fernando Lucas, who was seated across from him with an eager, hopeful look. He could already guess what his old friend was thinking.
"Jonathan Howson's deal was very well done. Great job. Keep it up with the next few," Gao Shen praised.
Lucas let out a relieved breath.
It was his first test since taking office, and getting praised like that left him reassured.
"Sarri has called several tis. You promised him a strong center forward, and now…"
Vardy ca from the seventh tier, so it was unrealistic to expect imdiate impact. Icardi was good, but not a traditional target man. Mané and Salah were still young and needed more gas to develop.
Tottenham were very interested in Kasper Schichel. Spurs needed a goalkeeper, and Gao Shen was asking them to swap Harry Kane plus so cash. Kane's market value wasn't as high as Schichel's at the mont, and Tottenham had yet to respond.
But even if Kane ca, he wouldn't be ready to make an impact imdiately.
No wonder Sarri was getting anxious.
"Tell him to wait a little longer. The solution's on the way," Gao Shen said with a smile.
"I have to treat Ferguson to a al, thank him for his huge assist, and while I'm at it, wrap up the Pogba situation."
(To be continued.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)