Chương 24: Decision
John was sitting in his office with a transfer offer in his hand. Wolverhampton Wanderers were a longtime admirers of Matty Fryatt. After finishing fifth in this season and being eliminated in the play-offs they were just on the cusp of gaining promotion. So they wanted to strengthen their squad to take that final step.
John tried to remember the 2007-08 season from the memories of his previous life. After a long time, he remembered that Wolves were just taken over by Steve Morgan for a nominal fee of 10 pounds with a promise to invest 30 million pounds in the club in the coming seasons. He remembered that Wolves invested more than 5 million pounds in the summer, but injuries to goalkeeper Matt Murray and midfielder Michael Knightly stopped their charge to Premier League short. They finished seventh in 2007-08 Championship and missed the play-offs.
As John remembered this, Michael entered his office.
"Michael, Wolves have made an offer of 2 million pounds for Matty Fryatt. I think we can get as high as 2.5 million pounds for him. But we will have to pay Walsall 20% of the transfer money." John explained to Michael.
"So, we have a decision to make. How much do you think we can get for Iain Hume?" John asked the new Sporting Director as he was supposed to be probing teams for value of Leicester players.
"Hume's value is nowhere near that. The most we can get for him is 1 million pounds, and that is if somebody really needs a forward. And there's a clause in his contract that 10% of his transfer money will go to Tranmere Rovers too." Michael gave the results of his probing.
"But Fryatt is young. I think he can develop into a top Championship level striker. That's probably why Wolves are willing to fork out such a large sum for him. He is a fan favorite at Leicester too, after going on a scoring run in the last few games. So, what do you think we should do?" Michael listed the pros and cons of both deals and left the decision to John.
"Let's sell Matty Fryatt. Even though he is a fan favorite and has some potential, we need that money. I think we can get a better striker for cheaper than 2 million. And fans don't like me that much anyway. While we have to rectify that in future, it also gives us freedom to do what we want right now." John made a decision. He knew that he could get better strikers for cheaper, and he already had a few candidates.
"Give Sean the go ahead to negotiate with Wolves. The deal could be done for less than 2.5 millions, but we will need the money immediately. We won't be accepting any add ons." John said to Michael.
Everyone was exceptionally busy at he club. John hadn't even seen Sean and Simeone in the last 2 days.
"I think I have a solution for the goalkeeper and backup right back positions." Michael said to John.
"Tell me about it." John said expectantly to Michael. John knew about future stars but Leicester weren't in a strong position to negotiate being in Division 2. So he will have to wait for Leicester to gain promotion before being able to get some players he knew about.
"Well, I know them from my time at Portsmouth. For right back, I've identified Andy Griffin. Even though he didn't play many matches for Portsmouth, he was sent to Stoke City on a loan and had some decent performances. Although I think his career is over in Premier League, he will still be a good player for us. He is still just 28 and can be a star player for us if he rediscovers his form. His contract is also expiring this summer, so we wouldn't have to pay any transfer money for him either. I think I can convince him to come play in Championship with a starting position." Michael said to John.
John was listening intently. A player with Premier League experience and still very much in his prime physically and they wouldn't even have to pay transfer money for him. The wages will be probably a bit higher, but John had already put aside 5 million pounds as reserve to attract players with high wages. Richard Stearman was still young and it will be good for there to be competition for starting position.
"I think he will be a good choice. Just confirm it with Simeone and then you can go ahead." John said to Michael.
"For goalkeeper position, I think Portsmouth's Asmir Begovic will be a steal. It will be a bit tricky but I think we can convince Portsmouth to sell." Michael said to John.
John was a bit surprised. He knew Asmir Begovic but he didn't know he was in Portsmouth.
Seeing John's expression, Michael thought John was surprised because he never heard Begovic's name.
"I assure you, he is a good player. He didn't have a chance to play in England until recently because of the work permit situation. Because of that he was loaned to La Louviere in Belgium. But with Portsmouth finishing 9th last season, they won't be willing to give him a chance. I've also heard they are chasing Sulley Muntari, so they will need every bit of money they can. And convincing Begovic will be easy with a starting position." Michael tried to convince John.
"OK, you should handle these transfers" John gave the go ahead for both transfers to Michael.
"Alright" Michael replied. This was the first responsibility given to him by John.
'I have to do my best' Michael thought while exiting John's office.
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