Chapter 27: The Professor's Evaluation

  "To be honest, I came to Finland this time just to observe Cesc Fabregas, who was already on our priority list last year. You also competed with him in the final and should know his strength," Steve Rowley said frankly. "But what surprised me is that a talent like you has emerged in this World Youth Championship! With my years of experience as a scout, I can assure you that you have the potential to become a world-class superstar in the future! If developed well, you may even become a legendary star like Gerd Muller!"

  Liu Chunming looked at Gao Jun with a completely different gaze after hearing the translator's stuttering words, if he really had such great potential, then all he needed to do was to keep him by his side, and in the future, he would never have to worry about not being able to hand in good results again, that would be a political achievement!

  Only Gao Jun remained calm as ever, and pushed Xu Genbao out to be a shield, "Such praise I really can't bear, China has an old saying 'small is fine, big not necessarily good.' There are too many football newcomers who became famous at a young age but ultimately failed to achieve their goals. I'm only 15 years old now, everything is still too early. Moreover, whether or not to go to your team, I myself can't make the decision, it must be agreed by my guardian."

  "It's also true that he is only 15 years old now, and I am also anxious." Steve Rolly thought to himself with a bit of amusement, but upon learning that Gao Jun's guardian was also the boss of his club, he couldn't help but furrow his brow...

  Although he couldn't immediately reach an agreement, Steve Rowley was still satisfied with this unexpected visit. Firstly, it avoided Kouamé being snapped up by other clubs beforehand. As the representative of Arsenal who had made contact with Kouamé first, even if other big clubs tried to poach him, Kouamé wouldn't directly sign with them without waiting for Arsenal's offer and comparing conditions. In this open competition, with Wenger's reputation as a magnet for young players, Arsenal still held a significant advantage.

  However, Steve Rowley, although having the final say on Arsenal signings, could only offer suggestions and opinions, with the final decision resting with Arsène Wenger. After sorting out Fabregas' situation, Rowley hastily returned to the club with his video footage.

  "Steve, long time no see." Wing said with a smile as he saw Steve Rolly covered in dust.

  "Professor, I've found a genius, a once-in-a-decade genius!", Steve Rowley exclaimed breathlessly.

  "Fabregas' performance has exceeded our expectations?" Wenger exclaimed in surprise.

  "It's not Sessegnon, it's another one, a more talented lad than him! You'll see when you watch the videos!", Steve Rowley hastily dragged Wenger away.

  Weng Ge attaches great importance to this left and right arm, and does not take his temporary rudeness to heart. After the video starts playing, his attention is completely drawn away, "Japanese? No, they seem to have been eliminated before, so are they Korean?"

  "No, he's Chinese. From your perspective, you should be able to tell which one, the Chinese youth team is the biggest dark horse in this World Youth Championship, they even defeated the Spanish team from Seville, and it was a big win, they also won the championship of this World Youth Championship." Steve Rolly hurriedly clarified.

  "Chinese? Got the World Junior Championship title? This is really unexpected! ", Winger couldn't help but be amazed, he just thought that China often has age-changing situations in youth competitions, would it be affected by this factor, and then noticed the small but shining player in the Chinese team, "Looks very young, should not have changed age, so to speak, maybe a real genius?"

  "His finishing is excellent, almost comparable to Solskjaer of Manchester United, a natural-born goal-scorer!" Wenger exclaimed. "Hmm, the choice of taking the ball and shooting was also reasonable, and his basic skills are very solid. Defensively, he seems to be involved less often, but his anticipation is very accurate, and there were two instances of intercepting and counter-attacking in midfield... This shot is just too accurate, it's like one shot, one goal! I suppose this has something to do with being in good form and having good luck, but even so, for a player to have such a high shooting success rate in a single tournament, it's still surprising. It reminds me of Fontaine at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden... Wait a minute, something doesn't seem right..."

  "Professor, is there a major flaw in his technical awareness? I think his handling of the ball and technical application are quite reasonable. These videos can even be used as textbooks."

  "Wenger snapped his fingers, realizing why he was absolutely wrong. His eyebrows furrowed even more as he immediately explained to Steve Rowley, "The problem is that it's too reasonable, the ball kicking is too reasonable, and there are fewer possibilities for choosing the next action, making it easier for the opponent to predict. In the youth tournament, he faced inexperienced young players, so his rationality naturally made him more efficient. However, if he faces experienced world-class defenders, he may be severely restricted, especially since his physical condition doesn't seem particularly outstanding (Wenger was comparing him to European giants' standards, while High Military was using domestic standards, so their conclusions differed). If this can't be improved, I'm afraid he'll struggle to reach your expected level, Steve."

  "It's no wonder he's a professor, to be able to notice such an easy-to-miss problem." Steve Rolly admired from the bottom of his heart, but as for Wenger's worries, he was somewhat dismissive. "He's still young, there's plenty of time to improve, can't we just remind him?"

  "Weng thought for a moment and said, 'Alright, you go remind him. If he doesn't think it's a big deal, then you can sign with him right away. If he plans to improve, then don't rush.'"

  "Why is this?" Even Steve Rowley, the world's best ball scout, was confused.

  "The change of kicking habits is originally a very difficult thing, but for such a young player, it's relatively much simpler. The problem is that the young player's own kicking habits are not yet solidified, and in the process of changing, it's easy to lose or distort the original good habits. So if he decides to improve his playing style, then he may have a chance to become the kind of player you expect, but there's an even bigger possibility that he'll lose his original advantages and become a mediocre player.

  On the other hand, if he continues with his current simple and unadorned playing style, it's hard for him to become the next Romario, but at least there's a big possibility that he can become the next Solskjaer. This may not be as flashy, but it would be enough to make him a super substitute or even one of our main strikers...

  Wenger said this much, and then asked himself with some expectation, "Which path will he choose? Will he take the risk or play it safe?"