Midfielder: Jorginho, Kondogbia, Brozovic, Pogba, Paulinho, Allan, Adam Lallana and Schneiderlin.
Forwards: Benteke, Icardi, Vardy, Mane, Salah, Harry Kane, Zaha and Bolasie.
…
This is the Leeds United lineup for the new season created by Gao Shen for Sarri.
Leaving aside Bellerin, who can only train in the second team for the time being, and Stones, who serves as a substitute, Gao Shen has introduced exactly 25 main players in the core lineup.
But these alone are definitely not enough. Leeds United still have players who stayed on the team from last season.
For example, goalkeeper Sean Higgs, this 33-year-old veteran will serve as the team's third goalkeeper, just in case.
There are also central defenders such as Neil Collins, Patrick Gisnobo, etc., Jason Crowe, the right back who once played for Arsenal, Andy Hughes, the main midfielder last season, and another midfielder last season.
Bradley Johnson, a main player who performed well, etc.
Among them, Bradley Johnson's original contract has expired, but after Gao Shen acquired Leeds United, Fernando Lucas was more inclined to keep this local midfielder, so he successfully transferred Bradley Johnson to Norwich.
Deli Johnson stayed with the team and extended his contract for three years, showing the team's confidence in the 24-year-old midfielder.
This actually represents Gao Shen, Lucas and Borrell's caution in team formation.
There will be 46 games played in the English Championship, plus the FA Cup and League Cup. Leeds United will have a lot of games in the new season. If all the players are new players, the problem will be even greater.
Therefore, Gao Shen's strategy is to use Woodgate as the team captain, take charge of the locker room, suppress everyone, and at the same time retain strong backbones such as Bradley Johnson to continue to maintain the stability of the team.
As for Jonathan Howson and others, if they are sold, they are sold.
After a long period of preparation and nearly two months of operation, Leeds United's transfer has come to an end.
…
Still at the house in Wetherby in the north of Leeds United, I had just gone from the Thorpe Arch training base to inspect the progress of the training base renovation, and returned here to hold the first Leeds United senior management meeting before the start of the new season.
The participants this time were very neat.
From the boss Gao Shen, Chairman Su Qing, to senior executives such as Lucas, as well as the coaching staff and youth training team such as Sarri, Ramis, Pimienta, and even the heads of various departments, they all gathered together.
The huge living room was packed to the rafters.
The air conditioning was on in the room, and the doors and windows outside were closed. Even if someone passed by, they would never have imagined that Leeds United's top brass would have a secret meeting here, which added a little more excitement to the spy.
At the beginning of the meeting, as the club's president and finance minister, Su Qing disclosed the transfer situation this summer.
Leeds United made £25 million from selling players, but spent £19 million buying players.
In other words, this summer, Leeds United's net profit in the transfer market reached 6 million pounds.
The reason why it is as high as 19 million pounds is because players such as Courtois and Trippier were introduced from Manchester City. Originally, the 5 million pounds could be paid in installments, but after some consideration, Gao Shen decided to pay it directly.
.
It's very simple. The introduction of these players has already owed Manchester City a favor, and they can no longer default on funds.
So far, all the 6 million pounds have been spent on the renovation and expansion of the training base, as well as some renovation and maintenance projects of the stadium, including some small shops, as well as venue maintenance costs and equipment.
Since Gao Shen proposed to meet the standards of Premier League teams, the level of venue maintenance is also higher.
Similarly, the club has much more personnel to hire, especially logistics support personnel, than Leeds United did before. This part of the salary expenditure will also increase the club's salary pressure.
More importantly, Leeds United's previous sponsor was an online gambling company, but Gao Shen no longer wants to be associated with the gambling company, so Fernando Lucas is currently leading his team to work intensively to attract sponsorships all over the world.
Gao Shen and Su Qing are both very optimistic about China and the Asian market, so they both agree that Leeds United should position itself as a ladder to help Chinese brands go global, so Leeds United's investment promotion will also focus on China.
Next, Su Qing will even personally lead a team to China to attract investment.
As the two major sponsors of football clubs, chest advertising and jersey sponsorship are both crucial.
Leeds United's jersey sponsor is the Italian sports brand MA. The brand's headquarters is in Bologna. The contract was signed in 2009 for one or two years. The sponsorship fee is only two million pounds per year. Compared with the Premier League giants, it must be
It's quite shabby, but in the Championship, it's actually pretty good.
Next, the team will also add sleeve advertising, which is expected to bring additional sponsorship revenue to Leeds United every year.
In a word, Leeds United must try their best to generate revenue in the future.
…
Su Qing's report made everyone present feel the plight of Leeds United, but at the same time they also felt the profound determination.
The team's current situation is indeed not very good, but Gao Shen's investment is real.
For example, to renovate the training base, the new training building alone cost more than one million pounds.
The training ground's geothermal and field renovation, maintenance standards, and even turf maintenance personnel are all in accordance with the highest standards.
This may not seem like much, but the annual maintenance costs and salary expenses will be more than before.
Of course, this is only in their eyes, but in Gao Shen's eyes, the pressure is actually not very great.
Because so far, apart from acquisitions, he has really not spent any of his own money.
More importantly, Naples made a lot of money again, thanks to the help from the Middle Eastern tycoon Paris Saint-Germain.
This also makes Gao Shen even more ambitious!
"Everyone, we don't have much time left to prepare."
A high-pitched voice sounded in the living room, and everyone listened attentively.
"I'm very grateful to everyone for sitting here today. I believe everyone has seen the difficulties and challenges the team is facing now, but what I want to say is that as a football club, our only challenge is to compete in the Championship.
!”
Having said this, Gao Shen looked at Sarri and said, "Maurizio, your task is very heavy!"
Gao Shen is actually not worried about Sarri's abilities and the players' abilities.
But you still can't be careless.
The biggest challenge for Leeds United this season will never come from the strength of the players, but from integration and the locker room.
How to quickly integrate more than 20 Leeds United players from all over the world in just over a month is a big test for Sarri's coaching ability.
How to coordinate the relationship in the locker room is also a test for Sarri.
If Gao Shen was the coach himself, he wouldn't worry at all because he could control the situation.
But Sarri, he was a little worried.
However, no matter what, the authority of the head coach must be established.
Therefore, Su Qing, Fernando Lucas, Borrell and others will send Sarri to take office at that time to express the club's importance and trust in Sarri.
Regarding the locker room, Gao Shen is a bit like raising a worm now.
To put it simply, he brings in two or three players for each position, and then lets them compete to see who can play better and who can play faster.
Players who are kicked out are naturally the main players. If they are not kicked out, they have to be rotated or even substituted. This is very reasonable.
The only exception is Pogba.
During the past period, Gao Shen has been communicating with Sarri about the team and also studying the players' game videos.
Gao Shen believes that Woodgate will become a treasure for the defense. As long as he is not injured, there is no doubt about his strength, and his experience and ability can well promote the growth and progress of young players.
The goalkeeper is Courtois, in the midfield, Paulinho and Pogba will be important components, and the center is Benteke.
Look, the central axis suddenly appeared.
As for whether Sarri plans to play 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, or whether he wants to play 4-4-2, it depends on his own choice, or making targeted arrangements based on the opponent.
In all of this, Gao Shen will not interfere.
All he wants is an upgrade!
Sarri has no doubts about Gao Shen's vision in selecting players. He also believes in the strength of Leeds United's players. In the past three years of following Gao Shen, he has also learned many means and methods of controlling the dressing room.
Now, with Leeds United, it can be put into practice.
Therefore, he is still very ambitious now.
After being called upon by Gao Shen, the Italian raised his head and said loudly: "Don't worry, leave it to me!"
Gao Shen is very satisfied with Sarri's current confidence and desire. He sees the blazing flame of success in the Italian's eyes, which is a good thing.
In addition to the first team, the reorganization of the youth team is also in full swing.
Now there is only the second team, which is the reserve team and the U18 age group.
When the training building is completed, several other venues at Thorpe Arch will be renovated and the youth training system will be gradually improved. They will continue to recruit players, but mainly to absorb players of appropriate age from the surrounding areas of Yorkshire.
At present, Leeds United's scouts can only play a role in the surrounding area. Steve Walsh's scouting department is also recruiting, which also requires more time.
It can be said that Leeds United is in dire straits now, but it can also be said that it is thriving.
At least, Gao Shen can proudly say that if you look at the English Championship this season, no team can show off its talents as well as Leeds United.
This is certainly because Leeds United's foundation has been completely hollowed out, but isn't it a profound and ambitious investment?
Especially at the end, Gao Shen said that although he was no longer at Leeds United and was coaching at Manchester City, he would still fight side by side with everyone.
"I believe more than ever that with you and our group of players, Leeds United will definitely be able to break into the Premier League!"
