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CHAPTER 60 — NOTES AND SILENCE
The meeting room was small and windowless, the kind of space designed for focus rather than comfort. A whiteboard covered one wall, already marked with arrows and numbers from the match. A laptop hummed softly on the table.
Coach Devereux sat at the head, jacket still on, notebook open but untouched.
The assistants filed in one by one.
No one spoke at first.
They watched the replay.
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The first clip showed Marseille building from the back. Devereux paused it just before the ball reached midfield.
"Here," he said.
The frame froze on Kweku, positioned slightly deeper than the other attacking midfielder.
"Why is he there?" one assistant asked.
"Because he read the pressure," Devereux replied. "Watch the next second."
The clip rolled. The press arrived exactly where Kweku wasn't. The ball moved safely.
No one nodded, no one spoke because they didn't have to.
They moved on.
Another clip — the assist. Devereux didn't pause this one.
"That's timing," the assistant said. "Not imagination."
"Exactly," Devereux replied. "He doesn't force things."
They watched again. The run. The pass. The finish.
"Doesn't celebrate, very mature maybe a little too much for his age," the physio noted quietly.
"Maybe, but that maturity matters," Devereux said.
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As they kept watching one of them realised an underlying issue.
"Physically," one assistant said, tapping a pen. "He's behind."
Devereux nodded. "For now."
"He got clipped twice and stayed up, but against a stronger side—"
"He'll learn," Devereux interrupted. "Or he won't. That's what the minutes are for."
They watched a moment where Kweku was pressed off the ball near the sideline.
"He hesitates there," the assistant said.
"Yes," Devereux agreed. "Because he's thinking."
Silence.
"That's fixable," someone added.
"Is he ready?" the physio asked.
Devereux leaned back.
"For what?" he said.
Another pause.
"Starting?" the assistant clarified.
"No," Devereux said immediately. "Not yet."
No debate followed.
"But," he continued, "he belongs in the room."
That settled it, they began to discuss other players.
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Later that evening, Devereux walked past the dormitories. Lights glowed behind curtains and laughter drifted faintly from one room.
Devereux stopped briefly, then moved on.
He got into his car and looked at the report on Mensah once more.
Internal Report (Summary)
Decision-making: Mature under pressure
Awareness: High
Physicality: Needs development
Mentality: Composed, coachable
Recommendation: Gradual integration, protected minutes
The kid was good not groundbreaking but if his growth continued as projected he could definitely be a stalwart in any of Europe's top leagues.
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That night, while Kweku slept, unaware of the discussion happening without him, something quiet but important had shifted.
He was no longer a trial.
He was a project.
And projects, if handled correctly, lasted longer than moments.
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