As a super agent, Mendes has a very high status among Portuguese players.
Currently, several Portuguese players in the Leeds United team are basically represented by Mendes.
And this guy has always been unwilling to do anything early. If he comes to Leeds, there must be something wrong.
Bruno Fernandez can be excluded first. Although he performed well, staying at Leeds United is his best choice; Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva are the most likely.
They are all the core players of Leeds United.
There is also Joao Felix, a 19-year-old youngster with great talent and great potential.
In Gao Shen's previous life, he transferred to Atletico Madrid this summer, but unfortunately, Simeone was not good at cultivating such young technical players, which resulted in Felix not reaching the heights he should have achieved in Atletico Madrid.
Therefore, in this case, Felix should stay at Leeds United.
But here's the problem.
If Mbappe and Dembélé leave the team according to the current situation, Leeds United's main position will be vacant, but Vinicius, Rodrigo, Felix, Grealish, Rashford and Sancho are all
There is a chance, not to mention that there is a local youngster Foden who can also play in these positions.
In addition, Leeds United signed Julian Alvarez from Argentina not long ago.
These are enough to make Felix feel the pressure.
"Find out and see what Mendes is here to do." Gao Shen ordered.
Logically speaking, for agents to operate, they must first communicate with the club, but Leeds United still want to know Mendes's actions first so that they can be prepared in advance.
"After De Ligt leaves, we'd better keep Ruben Dias, plus Militao and Jose Fonte. We have no shortage of central defenders in the new season, especially the recall of Savoy from Saint-Etienne.
Lipa and Fofana.”
There is also Gvardiol, who is favored by Borrell, in the youth team, but this player is only 17 years old, and it is still early for him to be on his own.
Given the current situation, if Leeds United wants to be stable, they must keep Ruben Dias.
Militao is actually very strong, but his performance is not particularly stable and he needs more practice.
This is also the reason why Militao lost to the younger De Ligt in the competition for the main position this past season.
"I understand." Borrell nodded in agreement.
He is responsible for the team formation.
…
While Gao Shen was having a small meeting with his team in Cheshire, far away in a hotel in Leeds, Jose Sanchez was having a video conference with Florentino and others in Madrid.
In the meeting, in addition to reporting on the latest transfer progress, he also mentioned a person he met this afternoon.
Jorge Mendez.
"How did he go to Leeds?" Butragueno asked strangely in the video.
This is the critical moment when the UEFA Nations League final is approaching. Why would he go to Leeds instead of squatting in Porto?
"He wants us to consider signing his players," said Jose Sanchez.
"who?"
"Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Felix."
Florentino shook his head, "We are already talking about De Ligt, and the transfer fee for Ruben Dias will be higher."
Jose Sanchez nodded.
The Portuguese central defender has performed at a world-class level this past season. If he really wants to be poached, he will probably have to pay a sky-high price. Even if it is not as high as Van Dijk, it will not be much different.
"Bernardo Silva is also on Gao Shen's recommendation list. He believes that the most likely person in the world to succeed Modric is Bernardo Silva. If we choose to sell Pogba, then
Consideration should be given to signing the Portuguese midfielder."
Florentino still clearly remembers the team formation plan Gao Shen made for Real Madrid before, which even listed several different team formation plans. Real Madrid and Florentino finally chose a stable metabolism.
Once Mbappe arrives, Real Madrid's overall competitiveness will reach a higher level.
"What did Gao Shen say?" Florentino asked.
"I haven't asked yet."
"Then ask, he is our technical director."
"Understood."
Later, Florentino asked about the transfer matters of Mbappe and De Ligt. These are the two most important signings for Real Madrid this summer and their top priority.
In comparison, Dembele's transfer is not the most important, because there are still Di Maria, Asensio, Jese, Vazquez and other players who can play the right wing position, so it is not
Very critical.
Jose Sanchez also reported one by one.
After the video call, Real Madrid CEO immediately took out his mobile phone and called Gao Shen.
…
"No need to check."
After Gao Shen finished answering the call from Jose Sanchez in the courtyard, when he walked in again, he said to Lucas and Borrell.
Both of them were surprised.
"Mendes is here to recommend Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Felix to Real Madrid."
Neither Lucas nor Borrell was surprised.
This was within their expectation.
This guy has no profit and can't afford to go early. If he goes all the way to Leeds, he must have an agenda.
At this critical moment, what could be more attractive to him than player transfer?
"What's Real Madrid's attitude?" Borrell asked with concern.
"They have little interest in Ruben Dias, they just want De Ligt, mainly because the Portuguese's transfer fee is higher."
No matter how wealthy Real Madrid is and spends 250 million euros to sign Mbappe, it will still be a stretch.
They also had to weigh up the remaining signings.
As for what Jose Sanchez said to Gao Shen, it is actually not a secret, let alone Leeds United knowing about it.
Both sides are playing their cards right, and the key is not who Real Madrid wants to sign, but the negotiation.
Gao Shen did not participate in the negotiations, so there was no conflict of interest.
Just like Bernardo Silva, Gao Shen did not give direct advice, but told them that after selling Pogba, they can consider introducing Bernardo Silva. This was already in Gao Shen's team planning.
It's been said before.
Gao Shen even recommended Milinkovic-Savic as a replacement for Pogba, and Zidane was also very optimistic about this player.
From Milinkovic to Bernardo Silva, there is actually no problem.
Different players can develop different tactics.
Milinkovic-Savic and Bernardo Silva are both good players, the key depends on who Real Madrid chooses.
This requires full consideration of various circumstances such as transfer fees and negotiations, some of which cannot be decided by senior officials.
This is why many players that the head coach wants cannot be signed. It is not because the club is not working hard, but because the reasons are too complicated.
It may be that the transfer fee has not been negotiated, the players' salaries have not been agreed upon, or there are sponsor issues, or other reasons, or even differences in climate and living habits.
It's too complicated anyway.
"Mendez is a little anxious." Lucas smiled and looked at Gao Shen and said.
"It's normal. He was strongly opposed to Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid at the beginning."
This incident was experienced personally by Gao Shen.
In 2017, when Gao Shen wanted to sell Ronaldo, Mendes kept looking for him and tried every means to persuade Gao Shen to keep Ronaldo. Later, he also persuaded Florentino and Jose Sanchez.
Real Madrid finally chose to keep Ronaldo after careful consideration, but the Portuguese still left the team in the summer of 2018.
Gao Shen can say with certainty that it was not Mendes who instigated this time, but Ronaldo himself who wanted to leave.
To be continued...