Chapter 10

Millwall's transfer activities were far from over, and Andrew was even more proactive than Biode Ridge. After leaving Italy, he made a trip to Northern Europe and brought back two players who had yet to sign formal player contracts for Biode Ridge.

Ole Solskjaer, who was 21 and had not yet made his debut for Molde, and 17-year-old Jesper Gronkjaer.

There were still a few more players to be added to Biode Ridge's squad, and a major transfer was also in the works.

Although there were already two goalkeepers, a third was needed for the first team to ensure stability, so Biode Ridge chose 17-year-old Richard Wright.

In the more brutal English First Division, it was normal to have a few more forwards. Biode Ridge spent only £10,000 to bring Kevin Phillips, a Southampton youth product who had been discarded, to the Den from the semi-professional club Boreham Wood.

Bradford was still in the Second Division, and Biode Ridge spent £250,000 to poach their young central defender Dean Richards.

Before the World Cup, after finalizing the transfer of Solksjaer, Biode Ridge sent his second offer to another club, which was to purchase the forward Henrik Larsson from Feyenoord in the Netherlands.

Although Feyenoord was a top team in the Dutch Eredivisie, they could not match the financial power of clubs like Ajax. To put it bluntly, they were just a bit more glamorous than the smaller clubs in the major leagues.

Biode Ridge's first offer was £500,000, which was rejected, but the response was not very firm. When he raised the offer to £1 million, the other side immediately began further negotiations, and the final transfer fee was set at £1.25 million.

This agreement was reached half a month before the World Cup began.

If it were now, in early July, Feyenoord would definitely have tried to get more from Biode Ridge, at least £2 million.

When Millwall officially announced several major signings, especially those of Solksjaer, Thuram, and Makelele, all of whom had transfer fees exceeding £2 million, the clubs that had sold players to Biode Ridge realized that this 18-year-old tycoon was a big spender!

A year ago, the British transfer record had just been set by Manchester United with Roy Keane for £3.75 million.

It's worth noting that last summer, the total spending of all 22 Premier League teams in the transfer market did not exceed £60 million!

Biode Ridge, in charge of a First Division team, had almost matched the transfer spending of three Premier League teams!

However, this transfer was in a stalemate. On one hand, Larsson was representing Sweden in the World Cup, and on the other, he was hesitant about joining a Second Division club, even with the generous salary contract and release clause offered by Biode Ridge.

Larsson's hesitation gave Feyenoord a chance to back out. After the World Cup, they immediately sent someone to Sweden to privately ask Larsson to reject the transfer.

At the same time, Biode Ridge also went to Sweden. He didn't need to paint a rosy picture for Larsson. Millwall's spending this summer had already shown the club's ambition, and with a focus on young players, Larsson, who was about to turn 23, would undoubtedly be a key player. In terms of reputation and ability, he would be the backbone of the team.

Feyenoord's attempt to change their mind backfired. If they hadn't sent someone to persuade Larsson, he might not have joined Millwall. But their reversal, just to get more money from Biode Ridge, made Larsson very resentful. Players are commodities, but no player, especially a famous one, wants to be treated as such.

In the end, Biode Ridge shook hands with the humble and low-key forward in Sweden, and in the new season, this Swedish forward would be scoring goals for Millwall!

Since the First Division season starts on August 12th, the team's training camp would begin in late July. Biode Ridge informed Larsson that he could report to the team in the first week of August.

By July 19th, Biode Ridge was looking at the player list in his office, feeling that the transfer activities were complete.

Goalkeepers:

Cassely Keller

Hans-Jörg Butt

Richard Wright

Defenders:

Gareth Southgate

Jaap Stam

Dean Richards

Marco Matri

Lilian Thuram

Gianluca Zambrotta

Lucas Neill

Midfielders:

Patrick Vieira

Pavel Nedved

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso

Claude Makelele

Michael Ballack

Forwards:

Robert Pirès

Jesper Gronkjaer

Bernd Schneider

David Trezeguet

Luca Toni

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Henrik Larsson

Kevin Phillips

Ole Solskjaer

The first team consists of 24 players.

Biode Ridge looked at the list and fell into deep thought. The full-back positions seemed a bit weak, with only three options in mind. However, Lucas Neill and Zambrotta could play on both flanks, and Makelele initially played as a full-back before switching to a defensive midfielder for the national team. Biode Ridge wanted to develop him as a defensive midfielder, otherwise, it would be a waste.

The central axis of the team, consisting of Southgate in defense, Nedved in midfield, and Larsson up front, was something Biode Ridge could rely on.

The wing positions were a bit thin. Gronkjaer was still young, and if Pirès or Schneider were injured, Nedved could cover the left, but the right side lacked an attacking initiator. Biode Ridge thought about it and decided he didn't want to pin his hopes and energy on players without talent.

In terms of team building, it had to be done step by step. For a league like the First Division, wing play was always effective. If they tried to play a technical style, the rough fouls would quickly break the team. Therefore, traditional wing play could not be abandoned, and it would remain an important tactic in the Premier League for the next twenty years. The role of wing play would gradually shift from traditional wingers to a combination of wingers and full-backs, a trend in modern football.

Biode Ridge kept muttering "right wing, right wing, right wing," and then he thought of someone. Although it was impossible to sign him, he could borrow him for now.

Deciding to act, Biode Ridge planned to visit the Scottish old man who had been successful last season.

Recently, Millwall FC had gradually calmed down. For the fans, the past month had been like a roller coaster.

First, the club conducted a major overhaul, from the coaching staff to the first team.

Then, transfer news kept coming in. Although Millwall fans were only familiar with stars like Southgate, this was enough to boost morale. What could be more exciting than poaching the captain of a rival team?

Biode Ridge had made a move that quickly won him the support of the fans!

This was similar to how Florentino Pérez, in the future, would poach stars from rival clubs.

A fan roughly calculated Biode Ridge's summer transfer spending and came up with an astonishing figure: £12.6 million!

This was an exciting number!

How much did Manchester United spend in the summer transfer market last year? A mere £3.75 million.

The year before that?

£1.1 million.

Clearly, the math couldn't be done this way. Biode Ridge was rebuilding the entire club, while Premier League teams usually just supplemented their squads. Major overhauls were rare, and only Blackburn, with their big spending, could be considered a major move, but it was just a few established stars.

What the outcome of Biode Ridge's summer spending would be, at least the football columnists were not optimistic. Millwall, which was previously ignored, was now drawing attention due to Biode Ridge's continuous major moves.

Biode Ridge was waiting outside the club, planning to have Andrew guide him. Outside London, Biode Ridge was no better than a tourist.

Soon, Andrew arrived in a luxury car and smiled at Biode Ridge, "Where do you want to go?"

"Manchester, I want to visit the Manchester United manager."

Andrew looked surprised, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head, "That won't be easy. Let me find someone to help."

He got out of the car, went into the club to make a call, and then drove Biode Ridge to the London train station.

At the station, they bought three tickets to Manchester. Biode Ridge was curious about who the third ticket was for but didn't ask.

In the waiting room, Biode Ridge met a well-dressed man with a gold-rimmed glasses, curly but neat hair. He looked polite and courteous. He hugged Andrew with a smile and then formally approached Biode Ridge, extending his hand and smiling, "Jason Ferguson, nice to meet you. Andrew always speaks highly of you; you are a legend in the Hall family."

The flattery was a bit obvious. Biode Ridge shook his hand and smiled, "Aldridge Hall, Jason Ferguson, so, oh, Mr. Ferguson is your father, right?"

Jason Ferguson smiled and nodded, then gestured for them to board the train to Manchester.

"I called home just now, and my father has time to see you."

Biode Ridge smiled and thanked him, then boarded the train, lost in thought.

He hadn't expected that Ferguson's son would know Andrew.

But after some reflection, he understood the reason.

Jason Ferguson was Ferguson's favorite son. After the Premier League was established, Jason worked at Sky Sports, but in the football world, he was just Ferguson's son. Outside of football, he was worth nothing. Compared to the Hall family's wealth and Andrew's independent agency, it was not surprising that Jason and Andrew, who were of similar age, knew each other, and it was even possible that Jason was trying to ingratiate himself with Andrew.

Biode Ridge knew how resourceful Jason Ferguson was. In the timeline he had experienced, after Ferguson informed the Manchester United board that he would sell Jaap Stam, Stam was transferred to Lazio within six hours, which infuriated the board and even caused dissatisfaction from Sir Bobby Charlton. Behind this transfer, Jason Ferguson played a significant role. He had left Sky Sports and joined a Manchester-based agency, causing trouble for Ferguson, but his father always covered for him.

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