Super Wingstorm

The busy summer had finally arrived.

After a season that ended empty-handed, the pressure on Ajax’s management had multiplied.

Core defender and captain Qi Wu, along with the team’s sharpest right winger, Van der Meede, were both set to transfer. This presented a huge problem for everyone at Ajax. It was clear they couldn’t be kept, and management demanded that the technical department come up with a plan as soon as possible.

Sign new players?

That seemed unlikely. Several first-team players were facing contract renewals, and renewing meant a mandatory salary increase.

If a club’s finances were a scale, then the transfer fee and salary budgets were its two pans. To raise one side, you had to push the other down.

The management’s decision to sell players was also driven by the pressure of these salary hikes.

If they didn’t sell anyone, where would the money come from to give raises to Van der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, Sneijder, and the others?

They were selling players but couldn’t make big signings in the transfer market, yet they still had to keep the team competitive—and even perform better than last season. This undoubtedly presented a monumental challenge for the technical department.

Ronald Koeman had already made it clear that for the new season, he would continue to promote talented youngsters from the youth team to the first team. He also demanded that the scouting department find a batch of outstanding young players to join the club as soon as possible, ensuring a sufficient supply of talent for the first team.

Even players as young as sixteen or seventeen, like Babel and Lamrabat, were now on the first team’s watch list.

Tony Bruins Slotts was the head of the scouting department, so talent selection was naturally his responsibility.

Lately, he had been swamped. He was meeting people constantly, and the number of player profiles that crossed his desk was staggering. It left him dizzy and overwhelmed. Every time he stepped into De Toekomst, a headache would set in.

His brow furrowed even tighter when he saw Patrick Radru and Fred Arroyo approaching together.

"I hope you’re bringing me good news," Slotts said with a wry purse of his lips.

Radru and Arroyo exchanged a smile.

Patrick Radru was an old hand in the Ajax youth academy. He had always coached in the youth teams, but after Leo Benhak’s early departure, he was called up to serve as a youth training assistant.

Fred Arroyo was one of Slotts’ scouts, specializing in monitoring Ajax players out on loan and submitting regular evaluation reports.

Both men had been busy with the same thing recently: the summer amateur tournament.

"Actually, we do have some good news," Fred Arroyo chuckled.

"Let’s hear it."

"You’ve been stressing about a center-back and a right winger, haven’t you?"

"Yeah," Slotts nodded.

Those were the two positions the team most urgently needed to fill.

"For center-back, I strongly recommend that young defender from Alkmaar, Vlaar."

Slotts nodded. He knew of the player. He had performed well in the amateur tournament and had the typical build of a center-back. He was a bit young and raw, but his prospects looked promising.

"The player is indeed good, but a little young. You know our team’s current problem—we need more mature, steady players. That’s why the scouting department and coaching staff are leaning toward Julien Escude from Rennes in Ligue 1. He’s about to turn twenty-four and is more experienced."

Patrick Radru shrugged. "Whatever. We have a good relationship with Alkmaar, so we can definitely start negotiations."

It was clear that he and Arroyo were both very high on Vlaar.

Slotts thought for a moment. "I’ll think about it. You know we can’t just sign all the best young players in the Netherlands. We have to consider whether we can give them enough playing time to develop. We already have Thomas Vermaelen for the center-back position. We signed the Belgian back in 2001, but he still hasn’t made his first-team debut."

Hearing this, the two didn’t press the matter. For a club like Ajax, the one thing they never lacked was young players.

"The other one is a right winger. You’ve definitely heard of him," Arroyo said with a smile.

"Oh?"

"That Chinese kid from Almere, Yang Yang."

"Ah, him," Slotts nodded. "Last night, Aaron Moye’s football show was basically all about him. Scored a brace in an away game against Warrendan. His two goals helped Almere turn the game around and beat the home team. That’s certainly an impressive performance."

"We saw his match in person," Arroyo smiled. "His dribbling on the right wing reminded me of someone."

"Who?"

"Ronaldo."

"Come on, the ’Phenomenon’ was a striker."

"I know. What I mean is, his dribbling is a lot like Ronaldo’s."

Arroyo’s comment jogged a memory for Slotts. He immediately motioned for his two colleagues to wait, walked over to a nearby cabinet overflowing with files, and rummaged through it for a moment. He quickly pulled out a document.

"I forget how long ago, but one of our scouts recommended him before."

With that, Slotts handed the file to his colleagues.

While they looked over the scouting report, Slotts played the match footage Arroyo had copied for him on his computer.

Last night’s match had been played at Warrendan’s Karas Stadium. Although it wasn’t broadcast live, a recording had been made at Ajax’s request. Arroyo had specifically edited a highlight reel of Yang Yang’s performance and copied it onto a USB drive.

As Slotts watched, his brow furrowed even deeper.

If he remembered correctly, the scouting report had landed on his desk over a month ago. He hadn’t paid it much mind at the time, because the scout who submitted it claimed Yang Yang was the ’next Ronaldo’. Slotts had dismissed that as sensationalism.

But watching the footage from Arroyo, this Yang Yang’s dribbling on the right wing was indeed sharp. Moreover, his work rate in the final third, especially his defensive contribution, was remarkably high—a rare quality for an attacking player.

Slotts wasn’t a head coach, but he knew perfectly well that a player who was willing to tirelessly contribute on defense while also possessing excellent attacking skills was a treasure for any manager.

The reason Ronald Koeman didn’t fully trust Ibrahimovic was precisely because the Swedish Striker wasn’t keen on defending.

Watching the footage more closely, Slotts discovered that whenever Yang Yang ran at a defender head-on with the ball, his one-on-one success rate was nearly one hundred percent. It was simply unbelievable.

However, the footage also exposed many of Yang Yang’s problems.

’His fundamentals are too poor, especially his first touch. His passing shows good ideas, but the execution is also bad. And his crossing... it’s terrible.’

As the man in charge of Ajax’s scouting department, Slotts had a discerning eye. He identified Yang Yang’s strengths and weaknesses at a glance.

If it weren’t for his poor fundamentals—if his first touch and crossing were just a bit more reliable—this player would be outstanding. Almere would have scored far more than two goals in that match.

This was a player whose strengths and weaknesses were both incredibly obvious.

Arroyo and Radru glanced at each other, both seeing the helplessness in the other’s eyes.

"I was listening to the football show last night," Radru said. "A lot of passionate fans called in and said that this Yang Yang couldn’t even get a game for Almere two months ago. But in the past two or three months, he’s suddenly made lightning-fast progress and become a core starter for the team."

Slotts looked at Radru. "Patrick, what you’re saying is..."

"I think we should observe him seriously. It would be best if you went to see him yourself."

"Hmm, I’ll consider it," Slotts said after a moment’s thought.

Arroyo, standing to the side, could see Slotts was being dismissive. He hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Tony, I know you’re very busy lately, but I really suggest you give Patrick’s proposal some serious thought."

"Hm?" Slotts also sensed something was up.

"I saw Gullit at Warrendan last night."

"Right. He’s already decided to take over the Netherlands U18 National Team this summer." Slotts wasn’t surprised.

"Also there were Utrecht’s scout, Hank Vanke, Feyenoord’s scout, Michel Bex, and scouts from several other teams. They all rated Yang Yang very highly."

Hearing this, Slotts immediately grew serious. He hadn’t expected others to be targeting him already. This was something he had to take seriously.

"Also, I saw Pete De Vries there."

"Pete De Vries?" Slotts was taken aback. He stared at Arroyo and asked with concern, "Are you sure? You didn’t mistake him for someone else?"

"Absolutely certain. He was with Karas Van Balen," Arroyo said with complete conviction.

Slotts’s expression changed several times. He remained silent for a long while before finally shooting to his feet.

"I’m calling Luther Carroll right now."

After saying that, he turned to Fred Arroyo. "Fred, get on it right away and find out when Almere’s next match is and who their opponent is. I need that information as soon as possible."

Arroyo knew he had captured the attention of the scouting department’s top man. He didn’t dare be careless, immediately standing up and agreeing.

Patrick Radru, however, added from the side, "Tony, you should probably give John Reep a call, too."

Slotts and Arroyo both thought that was an excellent idea.

...

...

After the match against Warrendan, Almere returned home triumphant. They were given a warm welcome by the Almere fans, especially Yang Yang, who, after scoring a brace, had once again become the team’s savior.

Everyone gathered once again at Shen’s Chinese Restaurant to celebrate. After a hearty meal and drinks, they all went their separate ways home to rest.

That night, in the Super Training field, Yang Yang and Old Ice conducted a post-match review. They mainly focused on the mistakes Yang Yang had made during the game. Some were due to his poor fundamentals and would be difficult to improve in a short time, but others were issues Yang Yang could address himself and should try to avoid in the next match.

Encounter a problem, solve the problem. This was how Yang Yang had continuously improved over the past three months.

The next morning, Yang Yang, full of energy, headed to the skate park for his special training.

Because of last night’s game, the team had a day off from training. So, apart from a lunch break, Yang Yang spent almost the entire day training at the skate park. He only returned to the restaurant to help out around dinnertime.

He had just managed to get through the dinner rush and eat his own meal when Henk Demyer and the others showed up at his door.

Not long after, even John Reep arrived.

This was an absolute first.