This is a bold move and will put a lot of pressure on them in the second half of the season.
But for Ness, Kaint really has lost his effectiveness.
All of this needs to start with Lu Yang beating up the kids.
Lu Yang looked at Liverpool’s offer sheet and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "I’ve got it! Here’s what you do, reply to Liverpool that we can discuss my transfer, but it needs to be in a player-plus-cash format."
"As for the player, we want their Havier Fabinho, or we can directly buy Fabinho either way!"
After Lu Yang finished speaking, Sotu was dumbfounded.
"Do you have some misunderstanding about your own value?" Sotu’s face was stiff, "These days young players can’t fetch high prices, only established stars can."
"Fabinho’s value is around fifteen to twenty million. And your value, according to Transfermarkt, is about seven million."
"Player plus cash, do you think Liverpool is going to act like a fool? You think you’re worth twenty million? I mean, do you think people outside are willing to spend twenty million on you?"
Lu Yang laughed: "Of course not, which is why I added the part where we could directly buy Fabinho. Saying it this way is just to make sure Liverpool doesn’t feel too offended."
"Also, scout around, check all the major clubs, see who has a good defensive midfielder who probably won’t be for sale."
"If during the winter window Ness sets a high price for Kaint, we’ll immediately send inquiries to multiple clubs about their midfielders. We at San Remo aren’t short of money, but we can’t be played like fools."
"If Ness isn’t willing to give us Kaint, then Juventus, AC Milan, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid... we’re daring enough to buy from anyone!"
After Lu Yang finished speaking, he winked at Sotu.
Meaning that regarding Juventus and AC Milan, you and Maniero think of a way to act more realistically.
Sotu thought for a long time and finally gave Brother Lu a thumbs up.
The praising head coach was truly convinced.
Mastermind of transfers, Brother Lu, is not just boasting.
Ness, oh Ness, you better set a reasonable price this winter window, or else... you’d best keep Kaint to yourselves, we dare to ask for Fabinho, why bother with a bike!
Thus, before the match between San Remo and Samp, the news that Lu Yang received an offer of eight million euros from Liverpool spread.
And Liverpool is not shying away from this.
The Liverpool higher-ups publicly responded: "Yes, we have thoughts of acquiring Lu Yang. He is a talented player and will have a bright future at Liverpool."
Of course, no suspense about San Remo’s side rejecting the offer.
But the way they refused sparked a storm in the circle of big clubs instantly.
Because they proposed a deal to swap Lu Yang for Fabinho.
The rest about directly spending money to buy Fabinho became insignificant.
Because although Fabinho is good, conveniently, big clubs haven’t been short of good midfielders in the past two years.
Teams lacking top-tier midfielders have similar skill levels to Fabinho, belonging to the same tier; they lack world-class midfielders, not average good ones, so no need to pay extra attention to Fabinho.
Especially since Liverpool won the Champions League last year, Fabinho’s value has increased by at least three to five million euros, making it an unwise buy at this point.
Isn’t the key point of this information that San Remo didn’t define Lu Yang as "not for sale"!
It is commonly known that a club defines a player as "not for sale" possibly meaning — you have to raise the price!
But not defining a player as "not for sale" often means they can be traded.
Lu Yang can be traded?
Then what are we waiting for?
Do you know why most young players can’t fetch high prices at this time?
Because most clubs’ philosophies are that players have to adapt to the club and league, which is risky. Without the aim of flipping the player, they naturally need to be cautious in selling.
If flipping is the goal, then disregard that, take your risk then!
However, although Lu Yang is a young player and hasn’t stepped into top leagues, his showcased traits have already made everyone reach a consensus that this player might not become a superstar in the future, but he surely could become a team spirit!
This is a player with heritage attributes; his spirit attribute is immensely strong.
Just like AC Milan’s Kjaer now, as long as he is there, you want and should hand him the captain’s armband!
With such players, your team’s strength might not necessarily increase, but as long as he is there, your team won’t have to worry about morale, discipline, or battle-will issues.
And this is precisely the deadly issue many big teams face; they aren’t lacking combat power, they lack a galvanizing soul figure to unite these stars.
Lu Yang’s balanced yet non-explosive abilities, along with such a spirit attribute, make elite clubs even more tempted.
Because with the arrival of the Golden Yuan era, everyone has a hunch – top-tier elites are unlikely to see out their careers in one city.
C Luo can’t retire at Real Madrid; Messi will ultimately part from Barça!
But as long as Modric and Benzema want to stay, Real Madrid won’t push them away.
Busquets and Pique, as long as they wish to stay, Barça can’t drive them away.
Only sub-top-tier elites have the possibility of spending their careers in one city, never leaving the club.
That’s the reality.
So Lu Yang’s perceived low ceiling turns into a bit of an advantage instead.
Almost simultaneously, many big clubs started discussing the idea of proposing offers for Lu Yang.