Gao Shen and Lucas stayed in the study, going over everything for the entire day.
Starting with teams from the Championship and League One, they gradually narrowed their focus down to the White Roses, Leeds United, and the Saints, Southampton.
Both teams had their own advantages.
The main reason Leeds United was cheap was that they didn't own their stadium or training ground, and had to rent them. Their youth academy had been abandoned and would require reinvestment. It also seemed that Leeds United lacked ambition, making it hard for them to push into the Premier League.
Over the years, Ken Bates had gradually taken full ownership of Leeds United and was now simply waiting for an offer.
Of course, unless Leeds United could get promoted to the Premier League, he couldn't expect to sell it at a high price.
But to get to the Premier League, significant investment was needed, and Bates no longer had the means to do so.
It had become a dead end.
Leeds United's main advantage lay in its large fan base. Home attendance was very high. Elland Road, with a capacity of over 30,000, was almost always full, which was rare in the Championship.
But because the stadium and training ground weren't owned by the club, they had to pay a high annual rental fee.
According to information Lucas got from banks in the City of London that specialized in football transactions, the annual rent was close to three million pounds.
What was interesting was that Elland Road, over a hundred years old, had been renovated many times, but the facilities were very outdated. The training ground was located far away, in a small town northeast of Leeds, and wasn't worth much on its own.
The East Stand at Elland Road had been expanded, but plans for the West Stand went bankrupt before construction even started. There had been space reserved for its expansion, and just west of it was Leeds United's former training ground, Fullerton Park, which was now abandoned.
According to the information Lucas collected, the combined price for Fullerton Park, Elland Road, and the current temporary training base was 20 million pounds. Ownership now rested with a private company in Leeds, but it served little purpose other than collecting rent each year.
In other words, if Gao Shen bought Leeds United, he would still need to spend another 20 million pounds to buy the stadium, training ground, and the wasteland that used to be Fullerton Park. Only then could he save the three million pounds in annual rent.
All Gao Shen could say was: damn it!
Bates and the former Leeds United management had really done a number on the club. They had sold off everything they could. They'd truly stripped it bare.
If you actually calculated everything, Leeds United's total acquisition price would still fall within Gao Shen's expectations.
…
The situation at Southampton was similar.
At present, the Liebherr family was waiting for a good offer. They had done a solid job managing Southampton. The team had performed well in League One and stood a good chance of being promoted to the Championship.
According to the Liebherr family's mindset, they were likely hoping to make a good profit upon promotion. But it was also possible they were betting on getting to the Premier League, since the value difference between a Championship club and a Premier League one was enormous.
Even if they only made it to the Premier League for a single season, they could receive a large amount of funding through the parachute payments program.
Lucas initially estimated that acquiring Southampton would require at least 40 to 50 million.
But the Saints had clear advantages. The team had a strong starting lineup and solid depth. In addition, they had a complete youth development system, and both the stadium and training facilities were owned by the club.
Of course, there were downsides too. For one, negotiations would be difficult, as the Liebherr family would definitely demand a high price. Also, Southampton's population wasn't as large as Leeds', and the size of its fan base was not as strong.
Lucas also mentioned that the UK was currently bidding to host the 2018 World Cup. Leeds was one of the candidate host cities, and Elland Road was included in the renovation plan, which showed the city's importance.
But Gao Shen told Lucas that England's bid was unlikely to succeed.
The reason was simple: two FA chairmen had already gotten involved in the issue.
Yes, Gao Shen's old friend David Bernstein was now stepping in.
All in all, both clubs had their strengths and weaknesses, and Gao Shen didn't have a clear choice for the moment.
However, since these two had made the shortlist, Gao Shen instructed Lucas to continue digging for more detailed information on both. If possible, he even wanted to visit them in person.
To be honest, even after living in the UK for a year and a half, Gao Shen had never been to Leeds or Southampton.
Especially Leeds, which was only a little over 60 kilometers from Manchester—he had never even been there.
…
After the lunch break, Gao Shen gave Lucas a few more instructions before sending him off.
Tomorrow was Christmas. It was time to spend the holiday with family.
As the workday ended, Gao Shen called Su Qing to talk to her about the matter.
Su Qing only listened to Gao Shen's summary and felt that both clubs had their own pros and cons. They would need to visit both sites and make contact before making a final decision.
Even if Gao Shen wanted to buy, the other side still had to be willing to sell.
"I've already moved all my holidays to around the Spring Festival. I'll go with you then," Su Qing said.
Gao Shen nodded.
If he really wanted to buy, he needed to act fast.
Time was valuable. Once the decision was made, it would be best to close the deal before the transfer window. Only then could he operate in the market, strengthen the team's competitiveness quickly, and aim for promotion to the Premier League as soon as possible.
If they missed the window, it would mean wasting another season.
That might not be a big deal to other wealthy owners, but to Gao Shen, it was a lot of money.
In the Championship and League One, most of the money spent was high-risk.
After hanging up with Su Qing, Gao Shen thought for a moment and called David Bernstein.
If he wanted to buy a club, he needed approval from the EFL and the FA.
The EFL was responsible for leagues outside the Premier League and essentially managed under the FA. There would definitely be contact later on.
So Gao Shen had to test the waters with Bernstein in advance.
It was almost Christmas, but Bernstein was still busy.
He was preparing to run for FA president.
Bernstein was thrilled to receive Gao Shen's call, not because Gao Shen was Manchester City's head coach, but because Gao Shen had previously provided key advice for England's youth training reform, which had helped Bernstein immensely.
Of course, Bernstein had also helped a lot with Fernandinho's work permit.
When he heard that Gao Shen was planning to buy a lower-league club, Bernstein's first reaction was disbelief.
"Are you crazy?" Bernstein blurted out. "Does coaching really make that much money? Even if your annual salary after tax is over ten million, you still can't afford to buy a club. Can you really afford it?"
Gao Shen wasn't offended. Bernstein was just being honest.
Nowadays, few people would speak that bluntly.
"What money do I have? Isn't it all from my fiancée?" Gao Shen joked with a laugh.
Generally speaking, Su Qing was portrayed as a rich second-generation with a family in the mining industry. She wanted to invest overseas and enter an industry Gao Shen was familiar with, so this idea came up.
But Gao Shen also explained that her family wasn't incredibly wealthy, and their assets were all back in China. So they could only go so far.
"What I'm most worried about is whether this will affect my work at Manchester City," Gao Shen asked seriously.
If it did, he would have to reconsider.
"That kind of situation hasn't happened in England before. We'll have to look into it, but nothing's confirmed yet, so I can't give a definite answer," Bernstein replied.
Gao Shen understood. He couldn't just show up at the FA and say, "I want to buy a club. Is that okay?" That would definitely make headlines.
"All I can say is, based on the current situation, as long as it's a lower-league club, it shouldn't be a big issue. I can handle it. But if it gets promoted to the Premier League… you know, the Premier League isn't under the FA's jurisdiction. That would be trickier."
The Premier League operated independently. The FA only oversaw cup competitions and the lower leagues.
Gao Shen understood what Bernstein meant.
Even that much was already more than he had hoped for.
"To be honest, running a football club is probably not as profitable as coaching," Bernstein advised again. "If your current salary were in the Premier League, you'd be earning more than most clubs."
Most clubs lost money.
Gao Shen was aware. But there were always exceptions.
And this was a golden opportunity. It would be a shame to miss it.
Although that was what he thought, Gao Shen expressed gratitude on the call, saying he would carefully consider it and persuade his fiancée and family not to make a reckless investment and get into trouble.
As the conversation continued, the topic shifted to the upcoming FA presidential election and Bernstein's youth training reform plan, including the construction of St. George's Park.
It was a massive project.
Gao Shen suggested that Bernstein take inspiration from Clairefontaine in France and Germany.
Regarding youth development reform, Gao Shen believed that focusing on technical training would be the long-term trend.
In recent years, this trend had become more and more obvious. Players' technical skills and passing ability were increasingly important. This would definitely be the direction of reform in English youth training.
Over the past year or so, under Gao Shen's guidance, Manchester City's reforms had been progressing smoothly.
Technical coach Borrell served as the youth academy's technical consultant. Manchester City was also willing to invest heavily to scout top youth players from across Europe. The academy was now full of promising talent.
Bernstein said he was considering bringing a team from the FA to visit and study Manchester City's youth system.
Gao Shen of course agreed and said he would fully support it.
To be honest, he and Bernstein were friends, but friendship could be valuable or worthless. Frequent exchanges of benefits were more reliable.
If Bernstein could offer Gao Shen some help, then naturally Gao Shen should give Bernstein what he needed.
Through this kind of mutual support, their friendship could grow and their cooperation would last longer.
If Gao Shen really acquired a club in the future, there would be many more opportunities to work with the FA.
(To be continued.)