86: Intercept and sign!

Richard Arnold's voice was filled with an uncontainable, almost explosive excitement.

"Boss, it's done! Shawcross agreed!"

"He said... he said he wants to play for a boss who truly understands his worth, who can let him tear opponents apart with his body!"

"Now, it's just a matter of whether Manchester United will set up any obstacles!"

"They won't," Lin Feng's voice was as calm as still water. "They will agree."

He had Arnold send a formal offer directly to Manchester United.

The transfer fee was one hundred thousand pounds higher than Stoke City's.

Additionally, the contract included a "future transfer priority matching right" clause.

This meant that if Hartlepool were to sell Shawcross in the future, Manchester United would have the right to buy him back first at an equivalent offer.

This showed immense sincerity and boldness, and also gave Manchester United a way to save face.

Far away at the Carrington Training Centre in Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson listened to the report from academy director Brian McClair and put down his teacup.

"Hartlepool? That Chinese boss?"

There was no anger on Ferguson's face; instead, a hint of interest appeared. He admired this kind of decisive, clever, and even somewhat unreasonable disruptor.

"Quite interesting. He's not just buying a player; he's telling us that his eye for talent is as good as ours."

The Old Sir waved his hand.

"Since the player himself wants to go, then let him. I'm curious to see how high this young man named Lin Feng can take these kids."

The deal was done just like that.

Meanwhile, with the support of his parents, Kyle Walker also formally submitted a transfer request to Sheffield United.

Lin Feng didn't waste time haggling; he directly had the club pay a 90,000-pound youth training compensation fee, swiftly bringing this future England international to Hartlepool.

Shaun Maloney's transfer was a dimension-reducing lure.

Lin Feng seized on his pain point of unstable playing time at Aston Villa, saying only one sentence over the phone: "At Villa, you're just a rotation player. Come to Hartlepool, and you'll be our tactical core in the attack, the team's primary free-kick taker."

Coupled with a salary almost on par with Premier League levels, Maloney barely hesitated.

The loan of Liverpool's young goalkeeper Scott Carson, on the other hand, was a win-win.

Lin Feng promised Liverpool manager Benitez that Carson would get starting opportunities in all of Hartlepool's cup matches to maintain his form, preparing him to compete for a starting spot upon his return to Liverpool. This swayed Benitez, who was struggling with goalkeeper reserves, and he readily agreed.

Early July 2007, Hartlepool, cloudy.

In the Phoenix Training Center's press conference room, flashbulbs lit up the area.

Kyle Walker, Ryan Shawcross, Shaun Maloney, Scott Carson... all the new signings were present. They donned the blue and white striped jersey, their faces beaming with anticipation for the future.

Sophie Green, representing the Hartlepool Mail, squeezed into the crowd of reporters. She keenly observed that these players, whether from big clubs or small, had a look of near-worship in their eyes when mentioning their "boss," Lin Feng.

She handed the microphone to Walker.

"Kyle, what made you give up Sheffield United and choose to come to a League One promoted team?"

Walker rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed, but his eyes were firm: "The boss showed me a completely different future. He showed me a plan, detailed down to every training session for my next three years. Here, I feel like I can become England's best right-back."

Sophie then turned to Shawcross, who looked like a wall.

"Ryan, you rejected Championship team Stoke City, why?"

Shawcross's answer was simple and direct: "I came here to win Championships."

Lin Feng made a low-key appearance at the signing ceremony.

He didn't give a long speech, simply walked onto the stage and shook hands firmly with each new player.

As he shook each person's hand, he handed them a small, black, unmarked USB drive.

"Welcome to Hartlepool. Inside is a personalized gift for you."

The players held the small USB drive, their faces showing a mix of curiosity and solemnity. They knew it contained the path to success planned for them by the boss.

That summer, Hartlepool United invested nearly two million pounds in the transfer market.

This figure shocked the entire League One.

The media described Lin Feng's actions as "Crazy Hartlepool," and Sky Sports commentators even directly stated: "This is an unprecedented gamble; if they don't get promoted immediately, this club will go bankrupt within two years."

Lin Feng looked at the new season's roster in his office and smiled.

Goalkeepers: Schmeichel, Carson.

Defenders: Simpson, Walker, Smalling, Shawcross, Nelson.

Midfielders: Henderson, Sigurdsson, Snodgrass, Maloney.

Forwards: Vardy, Kyle.

A young guard capable of stirring up a storm in League One had already taken shape.

He knew that these so-called "gambles" would bring ten, or even a hundred, times the returns in the future.

On the training ground, Old John looked at these young men, whose talent was almost overflowing, his face flushed with excitement, but soon, he became worried again.

He grabbed his tactics board and quickly walked into Lin Feng's office.

"Boss, the players are here, all of them like young calves."

Old John put the tactics board on the table, pointed at the dense arrows and circles on it, and said with a worried expression:

"But with so many talents, how am I supposed to mold them into a cohesive unit? That 'Total Football 4-3-3' you sent in your email, and 'inverted full-backs,' 'high press'... it all sounds like a foreign language!"