Chapter 96

In 2008, it was a dream year for Koke. As a young player under eighteen, he completed an astonishing leap from the youth team to the first team, from his debut to becoming a regular starter in just one year. Not only that, he even successfully made it into the Spanish team, though it was the youth team, which meant that his performance had been recognized. Just as he wrote on social media: this year felt like a dream.

In Malaga, Koke never hid the fact that he was a direct recruit of Lin Sen. Although Lin Sen had introduced more than just him, Koke did not care if his teammates would therefore exclude him, because he knew that without Lin Sen, he might still have succeeded, but it would not have been so fast. Of course, this was not the only reason for his trust in Lin Sen.

Koke still vividly remembers every detail of the match against Deportivo last season when he scored an own goal. At that moment, the person who had the most reason to be dissatisfied with him was the first to stand behind him, and that person was Lin Sen. Therefore, when Lin Sen called him in the summer to ask him to come to Malaga, Koke did not think for long. Before that, he had never even considered leaving Atletico Madrid.

For Koke, who was born in Madrid and entered Atletico's youth academy at the age of eight, Atletico Madrid was like home. Leaving Atletico Madrid was more like an adventure for Koke rather than running away from home. So, during the last interview after the match, when the reporter asked him if he would consider returning to Atletico if they called him back, the young Koke candidly revealed his thoughts, which led to the scene Lin Sen encountered at the press conference.

This put the innocent young man in a dilemma: if Atletico wanted him back in the winter, what would he do? Koke knew he had to answer this question because the one asking was not a reporter but his boss, Lin Sen.

Seeing Koke's troubled look, Lin Sen sighed inwardly.

If he could, he would not have asked Koke such a question. It would be more ideal for Koke to make his decision without any interference, after all, a forced marriage is never sweet. But Lin Sen knew that was impossible. The only variable in this almost certain transfer was Koke's own attitude. So, Lin Sen could only wait quietly for Koke's answer, and no matter what the young man's answer was, he would accept it.

If Koke chose to stay, that would be best. If he planned to return to Atletico, then Lin Sen would have to find a replacement.

"I don't know, boss," Koke finally said, shrugging his shoulders, giving Lin Sen an answer that seemed helpless. This was also his true inner conflict: returning to Atletico to play for his beloved team was Koke's dream because that was where his home and his favorite team were. On the other hand, Koke also very much enjoyed his current status in Malaga, where he had his favorite stage and the coach he respected the most.

Koke wanted to stay because it was clearly not the best time to return to Atletico. At the same time, he was worried that if he refused to return this time, he might forever close the door to his return to Atletico.

"I understand," Lin Sen nodded.

He really needed to know Koke's attitude, but he could not force Koke to give him a clear answer. What he wanted was not a black-and-white answer. Koke's response, though still elusive, at least made Lin Sen realize that this transfer, which seemed almost certain from Atletico's perspective, might not be as easy as it looked.

However, since Koke did not say no, it meant that Lin Sen had to be prepared to lose Koke.

---

As Christmas approached, compared to the grueling Premier League, La Liga players would have a relatively relaxed holiday. However, for the coaches of each team, the so-called holiday was just a break from the training ground. If the entire season were compared to a football match, then now was halftime, and the winter transfer window was like the halftime break. For the players, it was a rest, but for the coaches, it was an opportunity, a chance to either mend the fence or strengthen the team.

Lin Sen did not have many thoughts about the winter transfer window. First, Malaga's performance in the first half of the season could be rated as 90 out of 100, and he had no reason to disrupt the team's hard-earned half-season chemistry. More importantly, Malaga's excellent performance in the first half of the season did not substantially change the club's financial situation.

Livermore had long told him that Malaga had a zero budget for the winter transfer window. The term "zero budget" meant that if they wanted to buy, they had to sell first.

Lin Sen had discussed this with Livermore. Currently, no club had made any substantial transfer inquiries to Malaga, even regarding Koke's transfer. If there were any, Livermore assured Lin Sen he would inform him immediately. Lin Sen was not worried about this because he believed that with his current coaching performance, the club would not bypass him to sell players unless they planned to confront him, but there was no reason for that.

Lin Sen gave Livermore a reference list, categorizing the players into three levels: non-transferable, non-transferable unless a high price is offered, and transferable.

As the names suggest, non-transferable meant that unless there was an irresistible force, such as the activation of the minimum buyout clause, Malaga could not sell. Non-transferable unless a high price is offered meant that they would not actively sell, but if someone inquired, it would be a different story. As for transferable, it did not need much explanation.

When Livermore saw the list, he could not help but laugh bitterly: all the players who joined in the summer were marked as non-transferable.

Malaga's performance in the first half of the season had amazed many people, and Livermore, who had almost "achieved fame and success" in the outside world, was undoubtedly one of them. As the actual operator, he was clearly more shocked because he had never seen anyone with such a keen eye. According to Livermore, if out of ten players signed in a season, half of them performed well, that would be considered a pass. If one or two of them performed exceptionally well, that would be considered good. If one or two of them performed at a superstar level, that would be considered excellent.

Transferring players was not like buying goods; there were too many factors that could affect the outcome. Sometimes, it was not your judgment that was wrong, but the player's adaptation that was the issue. Ultimately, it was still a matter of judgment. Just like finding a wife, a beautiful wife did not necessarily mean a happy marriage; whether they were a good match was a key issue.

Livermore knew all too well how difficult it was to select excellent and suitable players from so many candidates. For a club like Malaga, which had just been promoted from the second division, it was like a mass selection. For any football club, judgment was wealth. From this perspective, Lin Sen was undoubtedly a huge asset to Malaga. The players he signed in the summer almost all performed up to their value. Even Isco, who had the least playing time, occasionally shone when he did play. Even the Italian central defender pairing, who had been questioned the most recently, if their performance was compared to the cost of signing them, they were still worth the price.

Livermore was somewhat relieved that Malaga's board was centralized, with Little Sanches having the final say. Otherwise, at this time, some board members might have had other ideas.

After all, the current valuation of Lewandowski on the "Player Transfer Network" had reached the million-euro level. Regardless of whether this valuation was inflated, when was the last time Malaga had a player with this value? More importantly, just half a year ago, Lewandowski had cost Malaga less than 400,000 euros.

What is a huge profit? This is a huge profit!

Huge profits always make people lose their rationality. They would not care whether the player was indispensable to the team; in their eyes, it was money, immediate money.

Therefore, it was not surprising to Livermore that Lin Sen, who had just started the Christmas holiday, proactively discussed the winter transfer window with him. Which coach would want to come back from vacation and find their team dismantled? In theory, Lin Sen's decision-making power in transfers also applied to selling, but Lin Sen clearly understood the reality and did not really believe that Malaga would not sell without his approval.

So, Lin Sen's attitude was clear: don't use financial difficulties as an excuse. If you want to sell, you can, but I will tell you who can be sold.

Livermore smiled helplessly, understanding Lin Sen's intentions. From the first half of the season, the players most likely to be quoted in the winter transfer window were still those signed by Lin Sen in the summer. Koke was one of the more reluctant ones. Thinking about this transfer, Livermore felt a bit frustrated because during the summer negotiations with Atletico, he had not taken the possibility of Atletico repurchasing Koke seriously. Who would have thought he would be proven wrong so quickly? It seemed that his previous anonymity was not without reason; the so-called "bad luck" was just an excuse.

As for the transferable players on Lin Sen's list, Livermore looked over it and found that the ones most likely to fetch a good price were probably the first-half season's starting central defender Rosario and the rotating winger Eliseu, both Portuguese. The former was at least a starting central defender and in his prime, even though he lost his position in the last few matches, it did not affect his evaluation. The latter, with two goals and three assists in limited playing time and the advantage of youth, would not lack for a new club.

Of course, all of this was just speculation. Ultimately, who would leave and who would stay would only be determined when the transfer window opened.