Midfielder.

Chapter 435

It's very complicated to be the leader. It feels good to see a team behind you chasing desperately. At least the vanity is satisfied enough, but it's also painful to be chased like this all the time.

Especially when you know very well that the guys behind you are thinking about how to kill yourself every moment, you have to be full of energy to deal with their every challenge.

At the very least, in order to prevent the chaser behind you from overtaking, you have to earn points desperately, for fear that the opponent will run in front of you without paying attention. This state of desperately fighting every game is quite tiring.

Chelsea is in such a state now, they are followed by a group of opponents who are eyeing tigers, and every team wants to beat them and become the new king of the Premier League. There are definitely not a few teams with this idea, except for those traditional strong teams. In addition, there are many latecomers who also think so.

Manchester City and Fulham, which are preparing to accept foreign capital injection recently, all have the ambition to become Chelsea's second.

Moreover, the oil tycoons from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are not much worse than Abramovich in terms of spending money. If they can complete the acquisition, the Premier League will definitely become bloody.

At that time, the mid-range teams must be affected, and the entire Premier League structure will be completely subverted.

Maybe in the next transfer period, or next season, the arms race in the Premier League will start.

Now it's the Chelsea family throwing money. Maybe the next time you see a transfer battle, Chelsea's money-throwing behavior is no longer news. The oil oligarchs need banknotes the most.

Moreover, in order to get the team to achieve results earlier, these guys absolutely save money. If Abramovich can spend [-] million pounds on Chelsea, then the bosses in the Middle East will write more checks.

Even Kenyon has already smelled the smell of oil floating over the Premier League. The group of tycoons sitting on tens of billions of funds have not entered the field yet. Once they enter the field, the transfer market will be completely out of balance.

Even Abramovich himself knows that he has no advantage at all compared to throwing money at him. Maybe compared to those current competitors, Chelsea is still rich, but if those oil oligarchs enter the Premier League, The pounds in his pocket are really not enough for shopping.

Don't forget, this is not the time for him to make money in Russia. His income from other industries is not enough for him to spend hundreds of millions of pounds every season, and he must also plan carefully.

Otherwise, Abramovich would not be so active in letting Aurelio Pereira start preparing for Chelsea's youth army. Perhaps this Russian tycoon has already begun to think about his future business.

When more clubs start throwing money at people, it may be time for Chelsea to produce and sell their own.

Chelsea's aggressive buying for three consecutive years is to guard against future panic buying. If the player's value soars to a terrifying level by then, they also have a certain amount of reserves.

Judging from the current age structure of Chelsea's personnel, they can maintain a high level for at least five to six years. However, appropriate personnel supplements are also necessary. Players are creatures that maintain a certain sense of freshness. Fans You also don't want to see the same faces every game.

If all goes well, maybe five or six years later, the new Chelsea built by Aurelio Pereira will make its debut in the Premier League. Maybe this old Portuguese man will make Chelsea also emerge from the 92nd class of Manchester United.

It's just that Chelsea still needs to buy people, a large number of people, from the youth army to famous stars. In the past two months, Kenyon has collected a group of young guys who can be cultivated for the youth team , and not only got so many new stars, but also disrupted the rhythm of the competitors by the way. There were a few boys who were originally favored by Manchester United and Arsenal, but they were all cut off by Chelsea.

Kenyon's behavior and the troubles he had caused had become permanent news in the newspapers.

Teams like Manchester United and Liverpool, which have completed shareholding changes, hope to restore their dominance in the Premier League, and Chelsea is undoubtedly a stumbling block on their way forward.

Chelsea don't dare to relax now. Although it is not to maintain any winning streak, it still needs a little miracle to help them get down from the top position in the standings.

Wanting to count on Chelsea to take the initiative to stumble at a critical moment, the possibility is still pitifully small.

According to Mourinho's character, unless he loses his nerve, the team will never collapse.

It is almost impossible for Chelsea to experience such a big decline in performance like Liverpool.

That kind of tough character and ability to control the team ensure that when Chelsea is moving forward, every nerve reveals a kind of tenacity. It may be possible to lose a game, but it will not continue to lose.

Now not only will they not keep losing, these animals seem a bit stingy even if they lose a game.

At least those critics and Chelsea's main competitors will not have such extravagant hopes. Everything on the football field is based on strength. With Chelsea's strength, it is basically impossible to suffer a losing streak.

Although the outside world agreed that it was not easy for Chelsea to lose, Mourinho still maintained enough sobriety. He was not arrogant enough to think that Chelsea was already an invincible and ever-victorious team.

The fierce state in the early stage of the league is because Chelsea's run-in was completed much earlier than other teams expected. Counting the warm-up matches in the early stage, it only took five games.

Their start is obviously much faster than other teams. This is also entirely due to Chelsea's tactical arrangements. Lin Yi's tandem role in the team has accelerated the integration of those newly joined players.

The second reason is also very simple. Even in the case of multi-line battles, Mourinho still chose to let Chelsea consolidate their advantages in the early stages of the league, and fought fiercely in every game.

If they hadn't fought so hard, they wouldn't have won so many games with big scores.

However, such a vigorous attack will also have sequelae, especially if you fight too hard in the early stage, such annoying things as injuries will always find you inadvertently. Chelsea is now facing such troubles.

In addition to the club's too dense schedule, the disruption of the international match day is also the main reason.

Fortunately, Chelsea's bench is thick enough. Even if there is a vacancy in the main lineup, there are enough players to fill it up, so that the overall strength of the team will not decline. However, such injuries are indeed a headache. During the winter transfer period Before the opening, Mourinho put forward a buyer request.

"The back line needs to be replenished, otherwise, in February, we will be very passive."

Mourinho and Kenyon have always been so straightforward when exchanging transfer issues.

He knew what he needed, and he only needed to tell Kenyon such a request, and the rest of the problems would be resolved by himself, but the specific list of buyers to be implemented was still determined by him.

That guy Kenyon is only responsible for operating. As for what kind of means he uses, Mourinho never asks. He just needs to wait in his office to see if Kenyon can handle those things he likes. Although not always successful, Kenyon still rarely misses.

Mourinho doesn't always look at those high-priced superstars. When he selects defenders, he still focuses on practicality most of the time. After all, defenders don't need to buy so many high-priced goods.

What's more, many of those big-name defenders are the pillars of their respective teams. It is not easy to dig them in. Instead of risking offending others to run into a wall, it is better to find some practical players.

With both Gallas and Parker leaving, Mourinho now needs a sufficient rotation at the back line. Del Horno's state has been a bit up and down, and he is not completely qualified.

Moreover, in the position of central defender, only Terry and Carvalho are relatively stable partners. After Gallas left, Chelsea's defensive line lacked a panacea that could be rotated to central defender.

Although Ashley Cole and Ferreira have enough successors at the full-back position, but in the defensive hinterland of the central defender, Chelsea's reserve list still lacks some important substitutes. When Terry and Carvalho are absent at the same time, Mourinho will be a bit stretched.

And in multi-line battles, it is much better to prepare a few more defenders than to face a man shortage. Mourinho's request this time is very direct, and he needs to finalize the candidates during the winter transfer period.

You know, after February, it will be time for the UEFA Champions League. At that time, the competition will be so fierce that people will have no time to breathe. If you don't want to be thrown off by your opponent at a critical moment, it is best to prepare early.

The few candidates that Mourinho is eyeing now are actually not cheap. They include the main players of other teams and some players he is familiar with, such as Bosingwa who is still playing in Porto.

As a player trained by Mourinho in Porto, Mourinho is quite confident in Bosingwa's strength. At least this guy's state rarely fluctuates.

Moreover, Bosingwa has the ability to shuttle on both sides. His all-rounder in the defense is exactly what Mourinho needs most. A professional and versatile defender is also the mainstream of the football circle now, but is Porto now? It is a trouble for Kenyon to let his defense general go.

However, after losing the Champions League last season, Porto failed to make it past the group stage this season. Benfica finally got the chance to ride on the head of this old opponent. In the league, Porto's state has also been in a downturn. Without the glory of the Triple Crown period, it only ranked third in the league.

Although the chairman of the Porto club, Da Costa, has the same tough attitude as before, he believes that the team's temporary downturn is just a normal metabolism of a team, and they will return to their peak.

But looking at the current posture of the Porto team, it is estimated that there will not be any major breakthroughs in the short term.

The little family property left by Mourinho at the beginning has basically been sold off now.

Not counting those people who transferred to Chelsea, the old courtiers like McCarthy and Dalley have been invited out of the team by Da Costa before the start of the new season, but the sale price is not bad.

Now the team of the Triple Crown is only Bosingwa and a few others. Porto, which has undergone a major change, can still maintain the top three in the league, which is already a good result.

This is also entirely due to the fact that the competition in the Portuguese Super League is not so fierce. Except for the three giants, there are not many teams that can impact them. Otherwise, according to this lineup, there has already been a sharp decline in performance , The defeat in the Champions League group stage also cost them a fortune.

Although Da Costa keeps saying that he wants to strengthen the team, but he is holding the large transfer fees obtained by selling players, and it is impossible to really invest in the construction of the team. After all, the Portuguese Super League is not the Premier League. They can defend the league championship for several consecutive years, and they can't get any high returns.

Instead of spending so much money to buy some famous stars, it is better to use a small part of the funds to discover young players. Maybe Da Costa is still dreaming of digging out another Lin Yi.

It was because of this that Mourinho left Porto at the beginning. He understood how bad the Portuguese Super League's business situation was. Even if he won the Champions League trophy, the Portuguese Super League would not change.

Portugal is not considered an economically developed country in Europe as a whole. It can even be said bluntly that their level of competition in Europe has always been in the middle and lower reaches.

The state of the country is like this, how can you expect the club's financial situation to be better?

In Portugal, there is no support from a big spender like Abramovich. Every club is in a state of making ends meet. Apart from selling those famous players to maintain the team's balance of payments, they really can't think of better. It is very helpless to find a way to solve your own economic crisis.

As a Portuguese, Mourinho knows this very well, so he chose to come out.

Now even if Porto does not want to sell people, it is estimated that Da Costa will not get the support of the board of directors.

Those businessmen who spent money to support the team, they just regard Porto as an investment project that can appreciate in value, and they don't care whether the team can remain competitive.

So Kenyon is not particularly worried that Da Costa will continue to maintain a tough attitude. When the winter transfer window opens, Bosingwa will be very close to Stamford Bridge, and Da Costa is only concerned about the check. It's just a number, and selling someone is almost an impossible decision to reverse.

Perhaps the day when the Porto team sells out the championship team, they can understand that they are no longer the magical team that was blacked out in the Champions League, and have become mediocre again.

Although it is a bit troublesome, Kenyon is not yet unable to deal with this deal. For players in this second-tier league, you only need to draw out a check and meet the requirements of the opposing club.

At least Kenyon will not think there is any problem in the deal between him and Porto, but compared with Bosingwa's transfer, Mourinho's central defender is very troublesome. After all, the transfer market is most lacking. The most important thing is an excellent central defender. It can be said that the whole of Europe has fallen into a shortage of central defenders.

Otherwise, Real Madrid will not try to seduce Terry while making an offer to Lin Yi.

The position of central defender not only requires strong physical fitness, but also experience issues. A qualified central defender, most of whom are over 20 years old, can ensure his stability.

It is difficult for anyone to meet such demanding requirements, especially the Premier League, which advocates offense, has stricter requirements for central defenders. It is not that simple to play the main force in the Premier League.

Now, any strong central defender who can play the main force in the Premier League has to start at 2000 million pounds, and even if you hold the money, you may not be able to find a suitable candidate.

Throughout the summer, Kenyon has been looking for suitable candidates, but most teams will not let go of their defensive gate transfers. Compared with offensive players, center backs are sometimes more important.

And the transfer market has always been like this, the offensive gun is easy to find, but the shield that can defend the line is hard to find.

Mourinho's buying list this time also made Kenyon scratch his head a bit. Richards, Pique, Kompany, Mertesacker, Albiol, these names are very impressive just by looking at them. depressed.

None of them are easy to dig. Although Mourinho did not include guys like Cannavaro and Puyol on the list, as far as the central defenders in front of him are concerned, none of them can be easily handled.

Almost all of them are the future stars of their respective teams, not to mention that players like Pique have to be dug from rivals like Manchester United. Even if this guy is not the absolute main force now, this deal is difficult to negotiate.

Compared with poaching the corner of the old club, perhaps it is easier for Mertesacker, a novice who is still in Hannover 96, to get it done, but according to the rumors, this deal also needs to compete with the Bundesliga team Bremen.

But compared with Manchester United, a fortress that cannot be conquered at all, it may be easier to spend money with Bremen. At least Kenyon does not have to worry about having less money than the opponent, and he will not provoke Manchester United fans again. To launch an attack yourself, one thing less is better than one thing more.

"I hope that I can solve the problems you have given me, and try to bring back two qualified defenders during the winter transfer period. However, whether they can integrate into the team or not depends on you."

Kenyon's answer is quite pertinent. Although he doesn't know who he can handle, at least he can guarantee the delivery on time. As for whether the bought one is easy to use or not, it depends on Mourinho's training.

Watching that Kenyon guy scratching his head and leaving his office, all Mourinho has to think about now is the schedule on the wall. It is about to enter December, and what will be waiting for Chelsea Tough battle after battle, the devil's schedule is about to begin, and the flames of battle will be even more intense.

"Defending the title is really not a human job." Mourinho muttered softly, and no one could hear him.

But the smell of gunpowder from successive vicious battles has begun to permeate. . .

(End of this chapter)