章 244: Chapter 244: Midfield

De la Red, Juan Mata, and Arbeloa were all players Gao Shen desperately wanted for his team.

De la Red, Gao Shen was most familiar with versatile, strong both offensively and defensively, and undeniably talented. As for Juan Mata, Gao Shen was eyeing him as the team's future attacking midfielder. Hamsik was already good, but Mata brought more technique and creativity to the table.

In the 4-2-3-1 formation Gao Shen favored, the attacking midfielder needed to have exceptional abilities. Hamsik, though talented, lacked a bit in terms of finesse and vision compared to Mata.

Both players had their strengths, and Gao Shen saw them as perfect complements.

As for Arbeloa, Gao Shen had been longing for a solid right-back, but now it seemed that getting any of these three players was becoming unrealistic.

Gao Shen had prepared for this. If these three players weren't obtainable, he had backups in mind.

"José Callejon and Daniel Parejo both were sent back to the Real Madrid second team last season," Gao Shen said to Butragueño.

Butragueño paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

It was true. Both Callejon and Parejo had been promoted to the first team, but they were still very young, especially Parejo. During Capello's tenure last season, both were sent back to the second team due to lack of opportunities.

Parejo, at just 18 years old, was considered too inexperienced, while Callejon faced fierce competition on the wings. With Reyes on loan from Arsenal, opportunities for Callejon became scarce.

More importantly, Capello was not a coach who liked relying on young players, which was the complete opposite of Gao Shen's philosophy.

"I'll need to look into it," Butragueño said, unable to make a decision on the spot.

Gao Shen nodded, but added, "Try to negotiate without a buyback clause. And if there is one, it should be based on market value. Otherwise, I'm not interested."

This was a strategic move.

Real Madrid had a habit of inserting buyback clauses when selling young academy talents. Parejo, a young genius personally recognized by honorary president Di Stefano, and Callejon, who had shown potential in the first team, were no exceptions.

If Real Madrid were willing to sell them to Napoli, they would likely insist on a buyback clause. But if the price was set too low, Gao Shen wouldn't agree.

At Napoli, Gao Shen had a vested interest in player transfers, including a share in any price differences. He wasn't interested in developing players for Real Madrid at no benefit to Napoli.

Gao Shen's message was clear.

He believed in these two players, but they didn't have a future at Real Madrid. If they came to Napoli and thrived under Gao Shen's guidance, Real Madrid could buy them back at a hefty price, based on market conditions.

In effect, this would mean Napoli and Gao Shen were helping Real Madrid develop their young talents, but only if it made financial sense.

For Real Madrid, this was a reasonable proposition. They had the money. As long as the players were developed well, Real Madrid wouldn't suffer a loss. In the end, they could decide whether to buy back the players or not.

"Alright, I'll look into it," Butragueño agreed.

After finishing their meal, Gao Shen and Butragueño left the restaurant separately to avoid attracting too much attention.

Gao Shen knew he would be staying in Madrid for a few more days.

Now that people knew he was back in town, Florentino, Valdano, and others had all called, inviting him to dinner.

While Gao Shen could decline most invitations, he couldn't turn down those from Florentino and Valdano. He also planned to meet with Zidane, who was currently staying in Madrid.

It was going to be a busy few days, catching up with everyone and handling several tasks at once.

But as he left the restaurant and waited for Lucas to bring the car around, Gao Shen pulled out his phone and called Marino, who was back in Italy.

"Neither Arbeloa nor Juan Mata is available. You need to act immediately and get me someone," Gao Shen said firmly.

Marino reassured him over the phone.

Before leaving Naples, Gao Shen had given Marino a list of potential transfer targets.

Several players on that list were high-priority targets for Gao Shen this summer. For instance, Gao Shen had his eye on Andrea Dossena, a native Italian left-back from Udinese, as a backup for the left side of the defense.

Dossena was a solid player. If he wasn't, Benitez's Liverpool wouldn't have been interested in him. But Gao Shen knew Dossena wasn't necessarily going to threaten Vargas' starting position he was more of a rotation option to keep Vargas from becoming complacent.

Dossena had made 28 appearances for Udinese the previous season, starting 17 games. He had been used in various roles, sometimes in midfield and sometimes as a full-back, showcasing his versatility. Gao Shen estimated his price to be between 1.5 and 2 million euros.

Udinese was well-known for being a selling club. As long as Napoli was willing to pay, a deal could be made.

In addition to Dossena, Gao Shen was also interested in Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan, who was playing for Serie B side Piacenza.

The key thing about Nainggolan was his relatively low price around 500,000 euros. He would add depth to Napoli's midfield. Gao Shen was eager to buy him and develop him further.

Nainggolan had joined Piacenza from Belgian club Beerschot in 2004. He made his Serie B debut in 2006, coming on as a substitute in the final round of the season against Arezzo at just 18 years old.

Last season, he came off the bench again, playing six minutes in the final round against Trestina. While his playing time had been limited, Gao Shen saw his potential.

Since Piacenza had failed to secure promotion to Serie A, it wouldn't be difficult for Napoli to acquire Nainggolan. Gao Shen couldn't help but imagine how formidable a midfield pairing of Nainggolan and Vidal could be.

A backup left-back and a midfield reinforcement were good steps, but not enough.

Gao Shen also instructed Marino to contact Belgian club Gent. He wanted to sign Belgian attacker Dries Mertens, who had been on loan at Apeldoorn in the Dutch second division. Mertens' price was around 400,000 euros.

Gao Shen's most vivid memory of Mertens came from the World Cup. The diminutive attacker, who could play as a forward, attacking midfielder, or winger, had made a strong impression on him. And based on Mertens' original career trajectory, he would eventually join Napoli and reach the peak of his career there.

Gao Shen just intended to fast-track that process.

Speaking of Belgian players, there was another player Gao Shen had his eye on: Mousa Dembélé, who was playing for AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands.

Anyone familiar with the Premier League would recognize Dembélé as one of Tottenham Hotspur's best midfielders. His dribbling ability was outstanding, and his physicality made him a dominant presence.

Gao Shen had always wanted to sign Luka Modric because of his ball-carrying ability in the middle of the pitch. Players like Modric and Dembélé were invaluable in modern football. Napoli didn't have anyone who could fill that role yet.

After failing to sign Modric, Dembélé became Gao Shen's next target.

The problem was that, at the time, Dembélé was being used more as a forward or winger. And under Van Gaal's management at AZ Alkmaar, he was highly valued.

Strong-arming a transfer was possible, but it would be expensive. For now, Gao Shen had put that plan on hold.

Sometimes, the transfer market worked like this you couldn't always get the players you wanted.

Looking back at last season, Napoli's offense relied heavily on the wings, especially the left side. The right side, due to the lack of a strong right-back, left Sanchez isolated. The lack of balance was a problem.

Italian teams traditionally favored central play, believing that no matter how well you attack from the wings, the ball always needs to be brought back into the middle to score. That's why they often preferred a more central-focused approach.

Gao Shen was thinking that if he could find a midfielder who could carry the ball forward through the center, it would greatly diversify Napoli's attacking options. But finding such a player wasn't easy, and Dembélé was too expensive for the moment.

Aside from these signings, Napoli had two promising players in their youth system: Lorenzo Insigne and a 15-year-old Marco Verratti.

Yes, the same Verratti who would later become a key player for Paris Saint-Germain and Italy.

Gao Shen had met Verratti after Napoli's match against Pescara. At the time, Verratti had introduced himself to Gao Shen, expressing his admiration for the coach. Gao Shen immediately recognized his potential.

Since then, Gao Shen had made sure Napoli snapped him up.

When fate offers you a player like Verratti, you don't let him slip through your fingers.

Like Insigne, Gao Shen planned to have Verratti train with the first team, but neither of them was quite ready for regular first-team action yet.

"Pierpaolo, whether it's Zabaleta, Sagna, Cicinho, or Arbeloa, none of them are available. You need to secure someone else on the list no matter the cost or the championship in the new season is going to fly.

Gao Shen realized the seriousness of the situation, especially on the right side, where there was still no suitable candidate. This was a critical problem.

"Understood, I'll personally go and handle the negotiations. I'll make sure we land the players we need," Marino reassured him again.

"By the way, Roman Diaz sent me an email. He said you told him before to keep a close eye on the movements of South American players. He's collected some information on a few prospects, and I forwarded it to your email."

Gao Shen acknowledged and reminded Marino to do everything possible to secure the targets. Then, he hung up.

Just as Lucas pulled up with the car.

On the way back to the hotel, Gao Shen frowned, deep in thought. Who else would be a suitable right-back or a midfielder capable of progressing the ball through the middle?

The former wasn't impossible to find, but top-tier options were limited. The latter was even more challenging.

In the current football landscape, players who could dribble effectively in the middle of the park were highly prized. Players like Kaka were invaluable.

Even looking at Modric and Mousa Dembélé in the future, it was clear how rare and valuable such players were.

Unable to come to any conclusions, Gao Shen returned to the hotel. After a quick shower, he was about to head to bed and browse the tactical library when he suddenly remembered the email from Marino about Roman Diaz.

Roman Diaz was a scout Gao Shen had brought on during his trip to South America the previous year. He had asked him to keep a close eye on emerging South American talent. Gao Shen had almost forgotten about it, but evidently, Roman had not.

Opening his laptop, Gao Shen logged into his email account. Sure enough, there was a forwarded message from Marino, containing player information and recent transfer updates.

Gao Shen skimmed through the list casually until one name caught his eye.

Wait a minute... How could I have forgotten about him?