Alf Haaland, a former Manchester City player.
His phone number was exactly what Zhao Zhao got from Manchester City Coach Guardiola.
And he also has a more famous identity: he is the father of Erling Haaland.
Yes, the future striker who will 'eat' children.
The current young Haaland is only 17 years old, but he already made his debut in the Norway League at 15.
This year, he joined the Norwegian team Molde, led by Ole Gunnar Solskjær, for 90,000 pounds and began playing for them.
Just two years later, he was scouted by the famous 'wonderkid base' Red Bull Salzburg, who brought him to Austria for 5 million euros, which then began his path to fame.
Later, as we all know, he went from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, becoming 'Majin Buu' with various Golden Boots and championships in his hands!
Although Haaland at this stage certainly hasn't reached a high level, he is definitely good enough to be a substitute.
With his talent and professional attitude, he will definitely make it in the end. Signing him now is absolutely no problem, and he's super cheap!
And as far as Zhao Zhao knew, young Haaland's career plan was largely orchestrated and decided by the elder Haaland.
So, as long as the elder Haaland is settled, there will be no problems!
"Ah, Coach Zhao, I know you." On the phone, the elder Haaland was clearly a little surprised by Zhao Zhao's call.
"I was at the stadium watching your match against Manchester City last season. When Guardiola was chatting with you after the game, I was actually not far from you, haha."
"However, I am still surprised that you are pursuing my son. He is only 17 this year and has just started playing in the Norwegian Premier League. Are you sure he can play in the Premier League, which is several times more intense?"
Zhao Zhao said, "Yes, I am confident in your son's potential. With his strong physique, I believe he can quickly adapt to the pace of the Premier League."
The elder Haaland laughed, "But I hope young Erling can get more opportunities to develop. Will you give him such opportunities? Or, do you have any concrete plans?"
"To be honest, I have already signed several of Manchester City's young talents, including Foden, Sancho, and so on," Zhao Zhao replied.
"I have high expectations for the team next season and have made long-term plans. And I need more excellent young players to help me achieve this goal."
"Your son, Erling, is an important part of my plan. I cannot guarantee his starting position, but I can guarantee that he will get enough growth in my team."
"Perhaps you've also heard, I've also recruited many excellent Coaches to join my team, including two very good fitness Coaches. I will have them train your child well, so he develops into a powerful target man!"
"As for playing time, you don't have to worry at all. You are very familiar with the Premier League; you must know how many matches we play in a season. As long as I give him half or even a third of the matches, his total playing time might not be much less than in the Norwegian Premier League."
"And the intensity and training value of Premier League matches are absolutely incomparable to the Norway League; you should know this better than I do."
The other end of the phone pondered for a moment, and finally, the elder Haaland said, "Coach Zhao, thank you for your sincerity. But I also hope to get a guarantee from you: if one day... one day a more competitive team wants Erling, you will not stand in his way."
Zhao Zhao was slightly stunned.
This elder Haaland was indeed not an ordinary player's father; he clearly had a clear plan for his son's future.
He even knew that his child would one day reach the level of a top club!
In fact, when young Haaland transferred to Borussia Dortmund, he did sign a release clause contract, which later led to Manchester City acquiring him for a relatively small fee—compared to his potential market value of 100-200 million at the time.
Since in the eyes of the elder Haaland, even the Bundesliga giant Borussia Dortmund could only be considered a stepping stone, then the Premier League relegation team Sunderland certainly couldn't be young Haaland's permanent home.
"That's fine too; I'll just build Sunderland into a top club, won't I?"
Zhao Zhao thought, suddenly feeling a surge of ambition, and then immediately said into the phone:
"Sir, I can assure you that if Erling ever wants to leave, I will not stand in his way. I have a simple philosophy for running a club and coaching a team: a good start, a good end."
"If you are not at ease, you can add a release clause, which can be triggered by any team that can play in the Champions League."
"But I also hope to add another clause, which is that if we also enter the Champions League, the original release clause will not be effective."
The elder Haaland on the other side was clearly stunned as well.
He really didn't expect Zhao Zhao to say that.
"You... you actually think your team can enter the Champions League?"
After another pause, the elder Haaland had clearly made up his mind:
"Just for this goal of yours, which seems a bit outrageous, I agree. I can feel your confidence! OK, let's draft the terms as you said, but you still need to talk to Molde, after all, we just joined the team not long ago."
Zhao Zhao was overjoyed and burst into laughter:
"Then you don't have to worry about that. Didn't Erling transfer for 90,000 pounds? Then I'll offer five times that."
"500,000 euros, I don't believe they won't accept such an offer!"
...
And obviously, for a Norway League team, 500,000 euros could almost be considered a huge sum.
Let's put it this way, among the 16 teams in the Norwegian Premier League, less than half have a total team value exceeding 10 million euros.
And although Molde is a strong team in the Norwegian Premier League, their total team value is probably only 10 to 20 million euros.
Under normal circumstances, if they can spend one or two million euros to acquire players from elsewhere, it's already considered a big move!
Specifically for Haaland...
They just bought him from Bryne this season, which translates to about 100,000 euros.
Since the Norway League is a year-round system, buying him in February and selling him in June is roughly half a season.
It means Haaland only played a few matches for the team, and they directly made a profit of 400,000 euros from his resale. Why wouldn't they be happy about that!
So, they let him go directly!
Molde even recommended another striker to Coach Zhao, Thomas Amang from Cameroon, saying he could be packaged for only 500,000!
But Zhao Zhao politely declined.
He only needed players like Haaland who had appreciation potential; ordinary players were not worth it.
Although talent and potential are things that no one can see at first glance, Zhao Zhao still trusted the future he had experienced...
And so, Haaland arrived!
Specifically, the contract included a 50 million euro release clause.
At first, the elder Haaland thought it was set too high, but Zhao Zhao said:
"Since it's a top club, they can't possibly not afford this much money, right? If they aren't even willing to pay 50 million, then it means they don't value your child that much!"
The elder Haaland immediately felt that made sense, and so it was decided!
-----------------
Next, Zhao Zhao's target was the left-back.
Since he didn't get any good players from Manchester City, Zhao Zhao put Robertson, whom he had coveted for a long time, back on the table.
Unlike those young players, Robertson was born in 1994, making him a 23-year-old 'veteran'.
He has more extensive playing experience and belongs to the mid-generation players, who can play a connecting role in the team.
Moreover, modern full-backs often have strong attacking abilities but are slightly weaker defensively, yet Robertson can easily perform both tasks.
With him on the left and Zabaleta on the right, they can actually complete many of the tactical tasks Zhao Zhao deploys, whether it's focusing on attack or defense.
This is why Zhao Zhao didn't consider attacking full-backs like Alphonso Davies.
The youthfulness of the squad is a major trend for the new season, and young players are inherently more inclined to attack;
Therefore, having a balanced offensive and defensive player on each flank of the team's defense would undoubtedly be of great benefit to the team.
However, the acquisition of Robertson still caused Zhao Zhao a bit of trouble.
This resistance did not come from Robertson's club, Hull City.
After all, Hull City was relegated to the EFL Championship last season, and they themselves needed to sell some players to reduce operating costs.
And Robertson, who was in the prime of his career development, also hoped to continue playing in the Premier League to improve his competitive level.
Therefore, Robertson's departure was almost an inevitable event; the only difference was where his next destination would be.
It's just that Sunderland had a strong competitor: Liverpool.
Coach Klopp also took a liking to this powerful left-back!
And he directly offered 10 million euros to bring him to Anfield.
This was extremely tempting for both Hull City and Robertson himself.
So this time, Zhao Zhao didn't bother with bargaining; he directly increased the bid to 13 million and threw it in front of Hull City!
Money that needs to be spent must be spent; if you miss out on such a good player, he won't be available again!
It's worth noting that Robertson would be a contender for 'world's best left-back' for a long time in the future, and he contributed immensely to Liverpool's resurgence.
Later, although he didn't win any individual awards, he was consistently in the Premier League Team of the Season, Champions League Team of the Season, UEFA Team of the Year...
In every selection, he firmly held the left-back position!
And with Zhao Zhao 'intercepting' him in this life, not only did he improve his own team's strength, but he also incidentally weakened Liverpool's strength.
After all, if Sunderland wants to compete for European spots, these BIG6 teams are all competitors...
And with this 13 million euros offer, Klopp immediately backed down and withdrew from the competition.
"We won't spend too much money on a full-back," Klopp said. "My current squad is already competitive enough. As for Sunderland? Haha, do they really think snatching Robertson will change anything?"
Clearly, Klopp was just being stubborn.
The real reason he withdrew was... lack of money.
Of course, it's not that Liverpool didn't spend any money in the summer window, but after he brought in Roma's Salah and Arsenal's Oxlade-Chamberlain for around 40 million euros each, their transfer budget was indeed at rock bottom.
It can also be said that this 10 million euros was the highest offer Klopp could make in the end.
Of course, another reason for giving up on Robertson was that, in Klopp's view at the time, buying Robertson was only for use as a substitute.
Currently, Liverpool's starting left-back was Alberto Moreno from Spain, who was bought from Sevilla for 20 million euros.
Therefore, spending 10 million euros on a full-back substitute was already Klopp's limit; he felt it wasn't worth more than that.
So, Zhao Zhao won this round in the transfer market!
As for whether snatching a player from Klopp's hands caused animosity between the two sides... that was a matter for the future.
As for Robertson himself, he was also willing.
Although moving to Liverpool and playing under Klopp was very appealing to him, Robertson also understood that he might not be able to secure a starting spot at a big club like Liverpool.
In fact, in the original timeline, Robertson also spent a season working hard before his performance impressed Klopp, and he eventually became an absolute starter.
But now, Robertson glanced at Sunderland's original starting left-back Oviedo and was indeed more confident in defeating his opponent in the competition for a starting spot!
Moreover, what Zhao Zhao said to him was very effective:
"We are a growing team, a team destined to create a glorious history."
"You saw the miracle we created at the end of last season, and you were on the field when we defeated Hull City."
"Our team's fighting spirit and ethos are almost a perfect match for an ambitious player like you!"
"Come on, I promise you, you will also become a part of our miracle team and continue to create more astonishing miracles with us in the new season!"
As a direct opponent of Sunderland, Robertson was obviously impressed by the tactics and on-the-spot commanding arranged by Zhao Zhao on the field, so what Zhao Zhao said was naturally very convincing.
Thus, Robertson, jokingly called "Radish Head" by Chinese fans, officially became a Sunderland player!
-----------------
Amidst Zhao Zhao's constant travels, time had already entered mid-June.
Although the transfer windows for many Leagues had not officially opened yet, many major deals were already brewing.
The most eye-catching was Mbappé from Monaco.
After shining brightly in the Champions League last season, this talented forward, not yet 19 years old, was being hotly pursued by major powerhouses.
Real Madrid, Barça, and Arsenal, among others, expressed strong interest in Mbappé, and the media generally believed that Real Madrid was the frontrunner in this competition.
However, Zhao Zhao certainly knew that in this battle for Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain became the ultimate winner.
A loan + €180 million buy-out clause made Mbappé the most expensive U20 player in history.
Why not the most expensive player in history?
Because an even bigger deal was about to be completed!
That was the Brazilian star Neymar from Barça, who would join Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million!
This also allowed Paris Saint-Germain to achieve the "four hundred million rampage" attacking combination.
This was undoubtedly the biggest transfer of this summer, and also the biggest transfer in the history of international football.
When Neymar led Barça to a stunning 6-1 comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League a few months ago, almost no one would have thought that this top Brazilian star, Barça's next marquee player after Messi, would join Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
Neymar's transfer also had a significant impact on football.
The value of top stars soared, Barça was forced to re-deploy its squad and future plans, the influence of Paris Saint-Germain and even the entire Ligue 1 greatly increased, and in the upcoming Champions League, Ligue 1 finally had a luxurious team that could contend with teams like "Sarri's Chelsea" (referring to top European clubs, here likely Real Madrid, Barça, and Bayern Munich).
In addition, the series of butterfly effects triggered by this event were also very interesting.
Barça lost Neymar, so they had to find a replacement.
Out of desperation and confusion, they first signed Ousmane Dembélé, a promising young winger, from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million.
After Dembélé's injury, they then signed another Brazilian star, Coutinho, from Liverpool in 2018 for €160 million, effectively burning through the massive sum they had received from Neymar the previous year.
And Liverpool, having received this huge sum, bought strong players like Fabinho, Alisson, and Van Dijk from the transfer market, allowing the team to directly complete its rebuilding and return to its peak...
However, these deals, often involving hundreds of millions, were still too distant for the current Zhao Zhao.
What he was trying to do now was to leverage his €50 million to shake up the transfer market and make the butterfly flap its wings there too!
But the money was still a bit short.
After securing so many players—the three Manchester City youngsters + old Zabaleta, Ben White, Haaland, and Robertson—he had already spent nearly €29.5 million of his transfer budget.
He now had €20.5 million left.
Of course, Zhao Zhao also wanted to buy players like Van Dijk!
But he was completely out of his League now.
It should be known that when Van Dijk transferred from Scottish Premiership Celtic to Southampton in 2015, the transfer fee had already reached €15 million.
And in this season's winter transfer window, Liverpool, having acquired funds by selling Coutinho, spent over €80 million to bring him to Anfield.
In other words, if Zhao Zhao wanted to buy Van Dijk now, he would pretty much have to sell all his players!
Let alone a "world's best defender" like Van Dijk, Zhao Zhao actually originally wanted to get Ake from Chelsea.
This Dutch player would play very well for Guardiola's Manchester City in the future, and more importantly, he was exactly the kind of versatile defensive player Zhao Zhao needed.
He primarily played center-back, but could also play left-back, and also defensive midfielder.
One word: perfect.
But unfortunately, the price was not perfect.
Last season, Ake was loaned to Bournemouth and performed excellently, and was later recalled early by Chelsea.
But Bournemouth was still thinking of him and had offered to buy him out for £20 million, which is nearly €24 million, and this was already a record high transfer fee for Bournemouth Football Club.
So...
Zhao Zhao could only give up on that idea.
He couldn't compete!
So he still couldn't focus on these "veterans" who had already proven themselves in professional Leagues.
It had to be players like Ben White and Haaland to have a chance of a successful bargain!
Thus, he made a trip to London.
-----------------
Inside a training ground in Newham, East London, a match was underway.
This was a friendly match between West Ham United's U23 youth team and Chelsea's U23 youth team.
For youth team players, summer vacation was not important; they needed more training and matches to meet the demands of professional play.
Either they would be promoted to the first team, or they would lower their standards and play for other lower-tier League teams.
After all, for many U23 players, time was running out...
If no one took notice of them, many of them might have to leave the team, or even never be able to make a living from football again.
At the side of the field for today's match, there weren't many spectators, but it was clear that there were some scouts among them.
Therefore, the young players were also trying hard to show their skills, and the match was played very intensely.
The match had already reached the 80th minute.
West Ham United's on-field captain received a through ball from the back.
He dribbled forward a few steps, evaded the opposing defender who came to block him, and then suddenly unleashed a powerful shot!
The ball traced a beautiful arc in the air, directly hitting the top of the crossbar and then bouncing into the goal.
Facing such a sudden and powerful shot, the Chelsea goalkeeper was helpless and could only watch the ball enter the net.
Goal!
2:0!
The home team scored again!
On the electronic scoreboard by the field, the name of the goal scorer appeared:
"Declan Rice!"
The spectators on the sidelines also applauded the beautiful goal, and some were shouting "Rice"'s name.
"Rice" in English means "big Rice"; listening to the sounds of "big Rice," "big Rice" on the sidelines at this moment, it felt a bit like a vegetable market...
And this was already the second time today that fans had done this for this young man.
This 18-year-old defensive midfielder, who was already the captain of West Ham United's U23 youth team, had actually opened the opponent's goal with two long-range shots today!
-----------------
After the match, Rice changed and prepared to drive home.
He was really happy today because, through his goals, the team had defeated Chelsea!
And just three years ago, he was still a member of the Chelsea youth academy.
But at that time, Rice's physical development was slow, and in the increasingly physical and fiercely competitive academy, he failed to adapt and was released by the Chelsea youth academy.
After that, another London club, West Ham United Football Club, invited Rice for a trial, and Rice passed the trial and joined West Ham United's academy.
Then his performance got better and better; at 16, he entered the U21 youth team, and at 17, he was promoted to the U23 youth team, even serving as captain.
Therefore, defeating Chelsea, even if it was just a youth team friendly, still gave Rice a sense of revenge.
Who said I couldn't do it!
And now, he was already looking forward to the new season.
In the last round of the Premier League last season, West Ham United faced Burnley, and in the 91st minute of the match, Rice came on as a substitute for Edimilson Fernández, making his professional debut.
Although he only played for a few minutes and barely touched the ball, it was a good start after all.
Perhaps this season, he could truly be promoted to the first team and play in the Premier League.
And if he could defeat Chelsea's first team in the Premier League, that would truly be a perfect moment of vindication...
He would also be ready for such a moment to arrive!
"Hey, Declan, the gaffer wants you in his office."
At this moment, in the parking lot, a teammate greeted Rice.
"Oh, okay."
Rice responded, closed the car door, and walked with a smile towards the Coach's office.
He performed well today; Coach should be praising him specifically.
Upon entering the office, Rice found that besides U23 youth team Coach Steve Potts, there was also a handsome young black-haired man, clearly Asian.
Rice felt that the man looked a bit familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't recall at the moment.
At this point, Potts pointed to the Asian man and introduced him:
"Declan, this is Mr. Zhao, the Coach from Sunderland Football Club. He's here today to discuss your transfer. The club has already agreed to his offer; now it's up to your wishes."
Rice was stunned.
It was Zhao Zhao?
So it was that Chinese Coach who led Sunderland to a miraculous relegation escape last season?
He's interested in me???
Although it was a little different from Rice's previous thought of being promoted to the first team to play in the Premier League, it seemed like an even better option?
This sudden change left the young Rice a bit slow to react.
At this moment, the handsome man had already walked towards him and warmly patted Rice's shoulder:
"Hello, I'm Zhao Zhao. Now, let's have a good chat!"