Starting With Real Madrid

When Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 3-0 at Camp Nou and caused a sensation worldwide, in Leeds, a city in the north of England, Leeds United drew domestic attention as they faced Queens Park Rangers at home in the seventh round of the Premier League.

If there is one team that can be called the biggest dark horse of the Premier League this season, it is undoubtedly Leeds United.

After three rounds, this club, once considered in decline, sat third in the Premier League table. This alone caught everyone's eye, but most people believed it would be difficult for the White Rose to hold on and that they would inevitably drop.

Unexpectedly, Leeds United continued to show remarkable resilience through September.

In the fourth round, they drew 1-1 away to Fulham. Then at home, thanks to a goal from Icardi, they defeated Reading 1-0. Soon after, in the sixth round, they drew 1-1 away to Aston Villa.

After six rounds, everyone was surprised to find that there were only two unbeaten teams left in the Premier League.

One was Chelsea, who had spent heavily in the summer and welcomed Mourinho's return. The other was Leeds United.

However, due to the two draws in September, Leeds United's ranking was overtaken by the Manchester clubs and they slipped to fifth in the table. Even so, they were still ahead of strong sides like Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Liverpool.

In the seventh round, Leeds United hosted Queens Park Rangers, who were at the bottom of the standings.

After heavy investment this summer, the London side's form has not improved but has instead worsened, and they have become one of the leading candidates for relegation.

Meanwhile, Everton, who were previously second in the table, drew 2-2 away to Wigan Athletic.

Manchester City beat Sunderland 3-0, and Manchester United defeated Newcastle 3-0 away. Both Manchester clubs moved up to second and third in the table, while Chelsea defeated Norwich 4-1 to stay top.

At Elland Road, if Leeds United could beat Queens Park Rangers, they would climb back into the top four, level on points with Manchester United and Manchester City. But if they lost or drew, they would drop to seventh.

There was no doubt this was a crucial match.

To everyone's surprise, just five minutes in, Coutinho assisted Pogba, who broke through and beat former Inter Milan goalkeeper Júlio César to open the scoring for Leeds United.

In the 22nd minute, Salah struck again, this time Pogba provided the assist, putting Leeds United 2-0 up.

After that, the two sides fought hard, but in the 85th minute, Jorginho, on the end of a pass from substitute Cancelo, scored again for Leeds United, making it 3-0.

In the end, Leeds United defeated Queens Park Rangers 3-0, pushing Mark Hughes's team deeper into the relegation zone and overtaking Everton, Tottenham, Arsenal and others who had played earlier, moving up to fourth in the table.

…

Gao Shen heard the news after returning to Madrid, following the match against Barcelona, and dismissing the squad at Valdebebas.

His first reaction was…

"Why hasn't Mark Hughes resigned yet?"

Carlo and the others, well aware of Gao Shen's little grudge with Mark Hughes, all laughed.

It must be said, the probability of Mark Hughes being sacked is getting higher and higher. He has even become the bookmakers' favorite to be the first Premier League manager to be sacked this season.

The reason is simple: Queens Park Rangers invested tens of millions of pounds this summer, yet they are sitting 20th in the table.

The investors are not fools. How could they possibly accept such results?

Interestingly, another club that spent heavily, Liverpool, also find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.

After Rodgers invested a huge amount in signings, Liverpool still could not maintain their strength. They are now sitting mid-table, which does not bode well for Rodgers. However, Liverpool's management has been relatively patient with him.

The main reason is that Rodgers is still adjusting and building his team.

Reorganizing a team naturally requires more time to settle.

"I didn't expect Sarri to perform so well this season," Zidane said with genuine surprise.

He knew Sarri well and knew the Italian was capable, but it is by no means easy to take a newly promoted team to this level. Even with Gao Shen personally building the squad for him, not everyone could achieve that.

"Yes, we were surprised too. But it's a happy problem to have," Gao Shen said with a wry smile.

Of course he was happy, but there were worries as well.

Sarri's coaching achievements have been outstanding and have already drawn attention from other clubs. His players' outstanding performances have also caught the eyes of top clubs.

This is the fate of Leeds United.

"Leeds United's left attacking channel is very well developed, and their right side is also starting to take shape. Cancelo is extremely dangerous going forward." After Carlo said this, he looked at Gao Shen with a little more admiration.

Cancelo was personally scouted and signed by Gao Shen, while Leeds United's current starting right-back, Trippier, has also been performing excellently.

The combination of Coutinho, Kurzawa, and Pogba on the left was established by Sarri last season, with Coutinho replacing Adam Lallana.

At the beginning of the season, many expected Leeds United's performance to drop significantly. After all, Coutinho might not adapt to the Premier League, and his ability was questioned. But no one expected that as soon as Coutinho joined, he played at a high level, continuing his excellent form from Espanyol last season.

But Gao Shen expects more from him. He told Lucas, Borrell, and Sarri that once Coutinho regains his confidence, he will perform even better.

His setbacks at Inter Milan dealt a heavy blow to his confidence, and he needs time to rebuild it.

Originally, Leeds United's strength was only on the left. Now, with Salah emerging on the right and with the two right-backs, Trippier and Cancelo, also excelling, the right wing has become a major strength.

Salah has even earned the nickname "Egyptian Messi," a testament to his outstanding performances in the Premier League.

"A few days ago, someone from the technical team mentioned Salah and said that Valdano asked them to pay close attention to this talented winger who has been playing very well in the Premier League." Carlo looked at Gao Shen with a wry smile.

Everyone found this amusing.

Real Madrid wants to poach players from Leeds United. How will Gao Shen handle it?

It must be said that Courtois was poached from Leeds United.

At the start of the season, many thought he would be a substitute for Casillas. But unexpectedly, he claimed the starting position as soon as he arrived.

Give him a little sunshine and he shines brightly. Gao Shen gave him chances, he performed with almost no mistakes, and as a result, even Casillas could not regain the starting spot, being limited to cup matches.

With a talent like Courtois already in Madrid, it is no surprise that Real Madrid has its eyes on other Leeds United players.

"I am a realistic man. If the money is enough, then it's fine," Gao Shen said bluntly.

Zidane and the others laughed.

Who wouldn't agree?

If the money is right, what can't be sold?

Leeds United currently has no bargaining chips.

After dismissing the squad, the coaching staff was given three days off. Gao Shen invited Carlo and Zidane to accompany him to the UK.

Not only to see Leeds United, but more importantly, to meet Norman Foster in London.

The concept design personally worked on by the master architect had been completed, and he invited Gao Shen and the others to review and discuss it.

The design process for a large-scale project like this is complex, aimed at ensuring the interests and cooperation of both parties involved.

Usually, before the formal design phase begins, there will be a conceptual design stage, where layouts and designs are prepared according to the client's requirements, location, space, and functionality, often expressed through hand-drawn sketches.

According to the current plan, construction of the training base will not begin until next summer, with a construction period expected to last one year. Leeds United is currently communicating with the city council and actively engaging potential contractors.

In Gao Shen's opinion, the cost could be greatly reduced by inviting Chinese construction companies to take on the work. However, there are cumbersome government procedures to navigate. After all, the UK government must also consider domestic interests, including labor conditions and employment.

This is not something that can be accomplished quickly.

In other words, conservatively speaking, Leeds United's training base will not be operational until at least 2014.

Coincidentally, the final installment of this summer's transfer income will not be paid until 2014.

Gao Shen finally understood why it took Tottenham Hotspur so many years to build their stadium.

If it is this troublesome in Leeds, how much more so in London?

…

The next morning, Gao Shen boarded a flight to London with Su Qing, Zidane, and Carlo.

At the same time, Lucas and Borrell also headed south from Leeds to London with their assistants.

At noon, both parties met at a hotel in London and had lunch together.

Lucas brought the latest news.

Leeds City Council had put forward a completely new requirement.

"Isn't there an old railway bridge in the northern section of the site for our new training base?"

Gao Shen frowned, "Is there?"

"Yes," Su Qing nodded. "It's right next to the small interchange in the north. It's too old and has been abandoned. Now it's a whole row of bridge arches spanning east to west, covered with overgrown weeds."

"That's right," Lucas said. "The Leeds City Council intends to turn the area south of this abandoned bridge into a municipal park to revitalize this old historical structure."

"On both sides?"

"No, the northern side is all main roads. The southern side, about two kilometers, they want us to incorporate into our design. Then they will allocate funds for the renovation."

Gao Shen understood. This was not an unreasonable request.

Manchester City had done far more for Manchester's city council to build their training base.

Now at least the park will be funded by the city government.

"Has Norman Foster been informed?"

"I spoke with him about it a few days ago, and he said he would discuss it with his team."

Gao Shen nodded. He was looking forward to Norman Foster's design.

He wanted to see what kind of work the master architect could create based on his requirements.

(To be continued.)