Chương 23: Transfer Plans

"I prefer to field a 4-4-2 but it is quite different than the one being used currently by Leicester." Simeone said as he stood up and went to the board that he ordered to be carried to the meeting room.

"In my formation, the wingers move inside and act like attacking midfielders when in possession, making it 4-2-2-2 effectively in attacking. This creates space for fullbacks to run into and create chances from the flanks." Simeone tried to explain his preferred tactics.

"But upon losing the ball, the wingers move back to the flanks. The defending takes place in two stages: first the counterpressing by the two forwards in the opponent's third to try and win the ball high up the pitch and the rest of the players defend deep in our own defensive third in a narrow 4-4-2 consisting of two closely connected lines of defense with two holding midfielders in front of the central defenders. The aim is to force the opposition to wide areas and gaining numerical superiority in front of the goal." Simeone tried to make it as simple as possible.

"After regaining the possession, a quick counterattack has to start thus the need of a good passer in the central defense. We also need a highly physical forward with large amounts of stamina." Simeone continued further.

"The only players capable of starting in the upcoming season, if the club wants to compete for promotion, are Joe Mattock(LB), Richard Stearman(RB), Patrick Kisnorbo(CB) and one of the two starting forwards. That makes it 7 players in starting positions and we need cover at RB as Stearman is our only fullback capable of playing at right flank. And we need a substitute striker too. It will take time for me to decide who to retain as a substitute and who to sell, but I will give you the list as soon as I can" Simeone said with a sigh. They really had their work cut out for them if they want to compete in upper tiers of Championship.

Michael stood up after Simeone was done.

"So that means we need one CB with good passing skills and technical ability, two holding midfielders, two wingers who can cut inside when attacking, a highly physical striker and a goalkeeper. And also substitutes at right back and striker position." Michael tried his best to summarise the needs of the squad.

"Basically, it would be preferred if one of the holding midfielders can carry the ball forward if needed, but it's not that necessary. This is my preferred tactic but I can adapt if needed. A manager works with what he is given." Simeone said to Michael.

John let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Michael and John looked at each other with a difficult look in their eyes.

"I'll be frank, Diego, it's going to be difficult to find that many good quality players on our budget." John said to Simeone with a wry smile while Michael nodded to show his agreement.

"But if we are shrewd, I think we can find unproven youngsters with talent or young players from leagues outside England for cheap and some veterans on the free who still have some football left in them. But we can't get tried and tested players if we are going to fill all the positions you just told us." John told what he felt was genuinely possible due to his knowledge of the future.

"That's quite alright if you can make the right moves because older players have already developed different habits throughout their careers whereas young players can be easily molded into a unit." Simeone replied with confidence.

His teams played a physically demanding football which some older players can feel opposed to, but young players hungry for success easily buy into it if they have a chance to succeed. Simeone knew this from his experience at Estudiantes.

"We will also have to sell players too to gather more funds, so please hurry up and give us the list as to which players we can sell. And I am already telling you that if we get a high enough offer for a player, we will need to sell and replace him with other players, so our plans can be further changed." John told Simeone.

"You don't have to worry though, all the money earned from transfers will be spent on bringing players to help our cause. I am even willing to invest further if absolutely necessary."John said with a resolve while looking at Simeone.

"I will immediately get to work to identify players to keep at the club." Simeone replied.

Things were going to be hard, but a brand new start could provide Leicester the enthusiasm it needed. And if they did their jobs properly, maybe they could build something extraordinary here.