Chapter 1 The End

Chen Hero's nationality storm had completely come to an end because of his celebratory actions in the game and his post-match remarks. Although there were still some lingering effects, they were irrelevant to the overall situation, and these lingering effects were all praising him. For example, they praised his patriotism and his mature handling of the crisis. In particular, the celebration of pointing to the national flag was considered by many to be the most successful public relations tactic in crisis management, and they demanded that public relations departments of government departments and large enterprises learn from it. Some people even believed that Chen Hero was much more mature than before, and that he was growing and changing little by little.

Liverpool's trip to Beijing also came to an end. The day after the game, they took a plane to the United States.

They were going to play two exhibition matches in the United States.

For Chen Hero, although the nationality issue had passed, another trouble came to him...

Because in the United States, there was Taylor Swift!

In the game between Liverpool and the Los Angeles Galaxy, Taylor Swift appeared in the stands. She was wearing a red Liverpool jersey with Chen Hero's name and number printed on the back...

Obviously, she was there for Chen Hero.

The TV cameras focused on her many times during the game. After Chen Hero scored, she cheered. When Chen Hero missed an opportunity, she held her head in her hands, looking very frustrated...

"Locke, guess what this scene reminds me of?" The ESPN commentator joked, "I'm reminded of the 1998 World Cup in France, when Ronaldo was fighting on the field, but Susanna in the stands attracted more attention and murdered a lot of reporters' film. It's so similar, hahaha!"

After the game, Chen Hero was surrounded by reporters again, who asked him if he knew that Taylor Swift had come to watch the game.

Chen Hero spread his hands: "How could I not know? She called me. I know what you want to ask, can't you guys keep your minds a little cleaner? She's just a friend, I treat her like a little sister..."

On the other side, Taylor Swift was surrounded by another group of reporters.

"That's right, I'm here to cheer for Hero. And because of him, I'm now a Liverpool fan!"

"So, what's between you and Hero..." a reporter asked.

Taylor Swift said seriously, "We are good friends, he's like a brother to me."

Both sides insisted that they were just friends and called each other siblings. But the media obviously wouldn't give up so easily. Hero still has a girlfriend, right? If Chen Hero is single one day, we don't believe you guys can still stay apart!

So, the rumors between these two people seemed destined to continue...

※※※

After playing two friendly matches in the United States, Liverpool finally flew back home. Here they would rest for a while, then play another warm-up match before the new season kicked off.

While the Liverpool team was flying around the world, Niang was also busy signing players for the team.

Through last season, Niang now felt that Martin O'Neill was right. Liverpool didn't need to make earth-shattering changes all at once, and that gradual progress might be better.

Last season's results were proof of this. Liverpool, who had only made personnel adjustments in some areas, had not suffered any major setbacks, which allowed them to maintain sufficient competitiveness in the new season. Otherwise, the whole team would have wasted a lot of time getting used to each other last season.

So this season's transfer would continue to follow this line of thinking.

Supplement the areas where there were shortages, and strengthen the weak links, while leaving the rest untouched.

The introduction of Bale strengthened the team's strength on the flanks.

Now Liverpool had Bellamy, Adam Johnson, Sanchez, and Bale on the flanks. Kuyt could also play as a winger.

That was basically enough.

But the problem in the middle still existed.

Gerrard was getting old. This was a reality that every Liverpool fan was unwilling to face, but had to face. Gerrard's form and all-around qualities had declined to varying degrees compared to before. He had to find a successor for him.

Charlie Adam's performance was mediocre and could only be shown as a useful addition to the bench.

Inler was a purely defensive midfielder.

What Liverpool lacked now was a midfielder who could connect the whole team.

The former Xabi Alonso could do this, but he had gone to Real Madrid and become a core player there.

Liverpool needed to find a new core.

In fact, Niang had already had a target in mind. He had wanted to dig him up last season, but the player was unwilling to leave.

That was Real Madrid midfielder Sahin.

Sahin had been at Real Madrid for two seasons, and his performance had been underwhelming. He lacked playing opportunities in the first season due to injuries, and in the second season, he lost the trust of Real Madrid coach Mourinho due to the reasons of the first season, and had been excluded from the starting lineup.

Niang had wanted to dig him up last season, but at that time Sahin was unwilling to leave Real Madrid in such a dejected manner, as that would be seen as running away, and he wanted to prove his ability at Real Madrid.

But unfortunately, fate did not favor this Turkish genius. Mourinho did not give him the opportunity to prove his ability.

He had only a handful of appearances for Real Madrid this season.

He had also repeatedly expressed his intention to leave Real Madrid.

At first, his idea was just to blackmail Mourinho in order to get playing opportunities. But Mourinho was not afraid of his threat—if Ronaldo had threatened him, he might have surrendered.

But Sahin...

So when he said again that he wanted to leave Real Madrid, he really meant it.

In such a situation, Liverpool came to him again.

Having expressed their desire for him for two consecutive seasons, Sahin was very touched, and he also felt that Liverpool was the most sincere of his pursuers. The fact that they had hoped that he would join them for two consecutive seasons clearly showed that they also needed him very much, and that he could get more playing opportunities if he went to Liverpool.

Therefore, he agreed to Liverpool's invitation.

Real Madrid also intended to sell the player.

They had originally bought him to be Alonso's replacement, but who would have thought that he would not live up to expectations, and was always injured, lost his form, and still lost the coach's trust.

Of course, Alonso's replacement was still needed, but it was no longer Sahin's turn to do it.

One side wanted to buy, and the other side wanted to sell, and the two sides hit it off.

In the end, Liverpool brought Sahin from the Bernabeu to Anfield for a price of five million euros.

Real Madrid had brought Sahin from Borussia Dortmund in Germany for a price of ten million euros. Now that two seasons had passed, Sahin had not shown his strength, and his price had therefore shrunk significantly, directly cheaper than the original price by half.

However, Real Madrid was rich and did not care about such a small amount of money. In comparison, Sahin's annual salary was a bigger burden. His annual salary was 2.5 million euros, and his contract still had three years left. Over three years, they would have to spend 7.5 million euros on him just for his salary.

Compared to that, Real Madrid had already made a profit by selling him now at half price.

And for Liverpool, they had also made a profit. Although Sahin had not shown his ability at Real Madrid, it was because he lacked opportunities, and Real Madrid was such a super-giant team, with fierce internal competition and too much pressure. Sahin, as a foreigner, might not be able to withstand such pressure.

The environment at Liverpool was slightly more relaxed, and Niang also believed that Sahin's ability was still there, as long as he was given the right opportunity.

And such an opportunity, Real Madrid could not give, but Liverpool could.

As long as they gave him confidence and time, he would definitely show the style he had at Dortmund. In the beginning, Dortmund was able to break Bayern's monopoly and win the Bundesliga title, and the midfielder core Sahin played an indispensable role.

It was precisely because of this performance that he was spotted by Real Madrid.

Sahin himself was also very happy to join Liverpool. Liverpool had won the Europa League title with a huge advantage last season, and their performance in this competition had shocked European football, especially Chen Hero, who scored thirty goals in one season.

This made Sahin realize that Liverpool was a promising team, and coming to this team would obviously fulfill his wishes. Moreover, Liverpool was still in the process of building, and needed players like him to contribute, so he would definitely not be without a position.

As for the football style of the Premier League, he was not worried.

He was mainly responsible for controlling the rhythm, and the Premier League was very particular about rhythm. What's more, when he was at Real Madrid, he also learned a lot from Xabi Alonso, and these things had no chance to be used at Real Madrid, but Liverpool could benefit from them. Alonso was trained in the Premier League, and his experience was very important for Sahin to adapt to the Premier League.

And the most important point, Alonso also played an indispensable role in Sahin's decision to choose Liverpool. When Sahin was determined to leave, but did not know where to go, Liverpool came to him again, and Alonso strongly recommended Liverpool to Sahin, believing that he could succeed at Liverpool as he had.

He told Sahin a lot of good things about Liverpool, the teammates there, the life there, he told Sahin everything.

This experience was also very helpful for Sahin to adapt to life and football in Liverpool.

In this way, Sahin transferred to Liverpool and became the second important player that Liverpool had gained in the transfer market this season.

Bale and Sahin were the people Niang thought the team needed most at the moment.

Another important position was the full-back. On the right, Glen Johnson alone could not last the whole season, and another defender had to be found.

But he already had a target in mind.

After finishing Sahin's transfer, he flew directly from Madrid, Spain, to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

His target was the Dutch national team's right-back, Gregory van der Wiel.

For Liverpool Football Club, for Chen Hero, and for Niang, this summer was busy enough.