When Ethan returned to his office, Andy Walsh and Jim Cassel were already there.
"What happened, Ethan? Does Krzynówek want a transfer?" Walsh asked anxiously.
Ethan nodded. "That's right. Steve spoke to him last night, so he came to make his position clear this morning. That little bastard really..." He shook his head with a bitter smile before continuing, "But I don't intend to let them get what they want so easily!"
"Are you really planning to let Krzynówek leave?" Walsh asked in surprise.
"Is there a problem?" Ethan thought he was overreacting.
"Ethan, you know he's our first-choice player on the left. He scored eleven goals and provided thirteen assists this season, making him one of our best performers. If you let him go, what will we do next season?"
"Andy, don't worry. If Krzynówek wants to leave, there's no point forcing him to stay. Besides, I never go into a battle unprepared. Since I've decided to let him go, that means I already have a replacement in mind. However, Bruce has clearly underestimated me. I won't make this easy for him!"
"I agree," Cassel said. "I'm also worried that Bruce might take several of our key players. You know the Championship's appeal isn't only about money. What professional player doesn't want to climb higher up the pyramid?"
"That's why I've decided to go on holiday. I won't be back for a while!" Ethan said with a laugh.
Walsh and Cassel nearly fell over. Could that really be his excuse for avoiding the problem?
"Also, I'll have Scarlett release the news that Krzynówek is available for transfer. Brighton, who narrowly missed out on promotion from League Two this year, have been interested in him for some time. They're planning to increase their investment next season, so they'll be even more eager to sign him!"
Brighton were also a remarkable club.
In Ethan's previous life, they had received financial backing from a wealthy London businessman during the 1999/2000 season and had narrowly missed out on promotion. The following season, they won the championship by a clear margin and were promoted to Division Two. Then, as a newly promoted side, they won another title and moved up to Division One.
Winning consecutive promotions in two years caused a major stir in English football. Some people even speculated that, with the backing of their wealthy owner, Brighton might earn another promotion and reach the Premier League.
Unfortunately, during the 2002/03 Division One season, Brighton ran out of momentum. In particular, they underestimated the enormous gap between Division Two and Division One, and the players they brought in failed to perform as expected. They were eventually overwhelmed that season, finished 23rd, and were relegated back to Division Two.
However, Brighton won promotion again the year after their relegation. This time, they remained in Division One for two seasons before being relegated again in 2006, and they had not returned since.
It could be said that Brighton would be New Manchester United's biggest rivals for promotion next season. However, since League Two offered three automatic promotion places and one playoff place each year, Ethan was not particularly worried.
Ethan was the type who focused on strengthening his own team. He always believed that as long as New Manchester United were strong enough, there was no need to worry about how powerful their opponents were. If they lost, it meant they had not been good enough, and they should look for the reasons behind the defeat rather than simply blame the opposition.
"It wouldn't be bad to let Brighton make things difficult for Birmingham!" Cassel said with a smile.
"But you need to be careful. Don't let any of the other players leave. They're all crucial to our plans for League Two next season. If we lose them all, what kind of team will we have left?"
Walsh and Cassel nodded solemnly.
"While I'm on holiday, I'll change my mobile number and contact you afterward. If anyone else asks, just tell them I've gone away, no one knows where I am, and my fate remains uncertain!" Ethan burst out laughing after saying that.
As it turned out, Ethan's prediction was correct.
The day after Krzynówek spoke to him, Birmingham officially announced the appointment of former New Manchester United manager Steve Bruce as their new head coach. Walsh followed Ethan's instructions and acknowledged the news on the club's official website, while wishing Bruce success at Birmingham.
On the day he took charge of Birmingham, Bruce called Ethan.
Over the previous six months, Bruce had not only coached New Manchester United but had also followed Birmingham's situation closely. He understood the weaknesses in their current squad. They lacked a striker who could dominate the penalty area, an excellent left winger, and another center-back.
In the transfer recommendations he submitted to Birmingham, Bruce proposed signing Žigić, Krzynówek, and Abidal from New Manchester United to strengthen those three positions. All three had performed extremely well under him.
Bruce had already spoken privately with Žigić and Krzynówek. The former had not given him a clear answer, while the latter had approached Ethan the following day, asked to leave, and received permission.
However, when Bruce called Ethan, all he heard was an automated message.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off."
Bruce tried three times in a row and received the same response each time. He was left speechless. Was this Ethan's way of dealing with his attempt to poach New Manchester United's players?
Meanwhile, Scarlett of the Manchester Evening News became the first reporter to reveal that Krzynówek wanted a transfer. Although it was only a transfer story involving a National League player, it was insignificant compared with the rumors surrounding Beckham, Anelka's possible departure from Real Madrid, and Chelsea's interest in Hasselbaink.
But no matter how minor the story seemed, it was still bound to attract interested clubs.
Three days after the news broke, League Two side Brighton and Division Two club Preston both called to ask about the Polish winger's price. However, Walsh, working from the Newton Heath Training Base, followed Ethan's instructions exactly and quoted them a fee of £1.5 million.
Brighton and Preston were obviously not foolish enough to believe that a 23-year-old National League player was worth £1.5 million, especially when he was only a left winger. If the player had been Žigić, they might have considered it.
However, New Manchester United did not appear entirely fixed on that valuation. Instead, they continued leaking stories through the media. One day, it was reported that another club was interested in Krzynówek. The next day, a Division One side was supposedly pursuing the Pole. The day after that, even a Premier League club was mentioned.
The English media loved nothing more than building up transfer stories because the speculation helped sell newspapers. As a result, they never grew tired of it.
Krzynówek's influence was nowhere near that of Beckham or the other major stars, but he still had a following among New Manchester United supporters, so the media continued giving the story attention.
It had turned into something of a farce, but after New Manchester United made so much noise, Birmingham could no longer remain still.
Unable to reach Ethan, Bruce called the club office directly and spoke to Walsh. On Birmingham's behalf, he offered £300,000 for Krzynówek, knowing that New Manchester United had originally signed the player for only £90,000.
Walsh jokingly informed Bruce that Brighton had submitted a £500,000 offer the previous day. Although New Manchester United had a close relationship with Bruce, that friendship was certainly not more valuable than profit.
Walsh also explained that, since Ethan had gone on holiday, he did not dare accept Brighton's offer without permission.
After hanging up, Bruce was almost beside himself with anger. How could he fail to understand that Ethan was using the situation to drive up the price?
Even so, Bruce knew perfectly well how good Krzynówek was. As a left-footed player, his ability to cut inside from the left and shoot from distance added a great deal of variety to the team's attack. He was also well balanced in every other aspect of his game.
Sometimes, Bruce genuinely could not understand where Ethan found such obscure gems.
There was another winger at New Manchester United whom Bruce rated highly, and that was Hleb. The young Belarusian possessed exceptional talent, but signing him would require the use of a valuable special talent exemption. Birmingham had already chosen another player for that provision, so Bruce had no choice but to give up on Hleb.
Since he could not reach an agreement for Krzynówek, Bruce looked elsewhere for a suitable replacement. Over the next few days, he searched through almost every left-footed player in English football. The ones he wanted were unwilling to come, while the ones willing to come were not good enough.
In the end, he had no choice but to return to New Manchester United.
By then, the reported offers from Brighton and Preston had risen to £700,000, but New Manchester United still refused to move.
Seeing this, Bruce could only shake his head and sigh helplessly. Ethan's methods had completely caught him off guard. A player signed for £90,000 had increased eightfold in value within a year, yet Ethan still seemed unsatisfied.
Bruce had to admit that he had truly underestimated him.
"All right, Andy, stop playing games. Just give me Ethan's number. I'll speak to him myself. I want Krzynówek!" Bruce called New Manchester United's office again and spoke to Walsh.
Walsh cheerfully gave him a phone number.
Bruce called immediately, and the other side answered within moments. In the background, he could faintly hear laughter, wind, and the sound of waves. A bitter feeling rose in his heart. He was close to losing his mind with anxiety, while Ethan was relaxing on a beach.
"All right, Ethan, I give up. I'm done going back and forth with you. I'll offer £850,000 for Krzynówek. I want him at Birmingham. On top of that, I'll offer £1 million for Žigić. What do you say?" Bruce asked directly.
Ethan laughed loudly.
"I can let Krzynówek leave. £850,000, and we have a deal. But as for Žigić, I'm sorry. I reached an agreement with Chelsea yesterday, and the player has already accepted the move. You're too late, Steve!"
After hearing this, Bruce almost threw the phone away in fury.
He knew perfectly well that this was Ethan's revenge for privately approaching his players.
But what could he do?
Their friendship still had to continue, so he could only swallow his pride and accept the deal.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)