Chapter 510: Puel Worries About United

"Huh?"

Tang Ye blinked in surprise, then asked, "Why say that?"

The Xinhua reporter had asked him about transferring away before, and now his agent was asking too.

Is there something wrong with Manchester United?

"Well, not exactly suggesting you leave, it's just…"

Paul rubbed his chin, organizing his thoughts: "In my view, if you want to aim higher, leaving would be a good choice."

At Tang Ye's request, Paul briefly explained why he said those things.

As a football agent, Paul was well-informed about all the teams in European leagues.

"Given the current situation, Tom, if you think Manchester United still wants to get stronger, which positions need reinforcement?"

"Um… right winger?"

Tang Ye said: "And right-back too—those two positions are most important; the rest are fine."

"Exactly, right winger—but do you know, this summer window, you absolutely won't be able to sign a suitable right winger."

Paul spoke to Tang Ye with firm conviction: "At Manchester United's current level, if you want to climb higher, you need at least a 50-million-euro-class right winger—one who matches your technical profile, meaning a 50-million-euro-class pace-oriented right winger."

A 50-million-euro pace-oriented right winger includes three restrictions.

With those three conditions applied across the top five leagues, fewer than a dozen players fit.

Most importantly, all of them come from elite clubs—like Neymar at PSG and Dembélé at Barcelona.

These players are expensive, critically important to their clubs, and many are irreplaceable.

"Manchester United's summer budget is roughly 150 million euros—that's my estimate. If you want to solve the right winger problem, given the current transfer market, you'd have to forcibly buy Dembélé from Barcelona. Hmm… if you're willing to pay enough, you could get Dembélé—but then you'd have no money left to fix the right-back issue."

Paul delivered a lot at once.

Seeing Tang Ye's confused expression, Paul summarized again:

"The current player market is very unfavorable for you. If you were missing a left winger, it'd be manageable—but right winger? That's awkward."

"This… couldn't you just buy a few ordinary wingers and develop them? Teams are for developing players anyway. Mason's pretty good—Mason Greenwood—he's just young, even younger than me."

After Tang Ye finished speaking, Paul fell silent.

"I've thought about this too, but from what I remember, in recent years, Manchester United hasn't produced any truly great players, have they?"

The Premier League schedule is grueling, ideal for top-level players to battle each other—but not a good environment for nurturing talent compared to other leagues.

Then there are Manchester United's own problems.

"Hmm…"

Tang Ye took a deep breath.

Only now, after Paul's explanation, did he realize the predicament his team faced.

"Paul… maybe, uh, every team runs into some problems—we don't have to chase perfection."

Tang Ye relaxed: "Our current squad already has a high win rate—we beat Juventus, and our league position is solid. We should climb to second before the month ends."

"So what I said earlier isn't advice—just my personal opinion."

Paul smiled: "If you have any ideas, contact me anytime—I'll find a way to get you to the club you want. Of course, not Barcelona."

Tang Ye's eyes lit up: "Why not Barcelona?"

"If you insist on going, I won't stop you—but my advice is: don't play on the same team as Messi or Ronaldo."

"You didn't matter before, but now you're in direct competition with them, haha."

Paul stood up and squeezed Tang Ye's shoulder: "See you next month. Hmm… I'll probably be in Spain next month. If you want me to bring you something from Villarreal, call me early. You can call anytime—even if I'm asleep, it's fine."

"Haha, thanks, but I don't think I'll need it."

"Then goodbye, Tom!"

Paul walked away, then suddenly turned back.

"Go hard, my greatest athlete—I'm waiting for your Premier League title."

…

Snap!

【De Bruyne Long Pass Lv5: Replicate (Beyond State)】

Proficiency: 3012/5000

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv5: Replicate (Beyond State)】

Proficiency: 1121/3500

Off-season is the best time to grind proficiency. Over the past week, Tang Ye had accumulated nearly 800 proficiency points across his growth templates—extremely strong.

But his passing stat had just risen from 91 to 92; it'd take a while before it could climb further.

According to Tang Ye's experience, for attributes like passing and ball control that are already high, pure training alone makes further improvement extremely difficult without legendary templates.

Hmm…

Tang Ye's mindset was actually quite good. With a current overall stat of 87 and a 10% bonus, he was more than sufficient playing for Manchester United.

Handling each upcoming match well, advancing, and earning more league points—that's what he should focus on now.

…

February 18, London, England.

Sky Sports Radio.

"Behind me is Chelsea's home ground, Stamford Bridge Stadium. In just over four and a half hours, Chelsea and Manchester United will face off in the FA Cup fifth round. Right now, we'd like to interview some Chelsea fans here on-site."

The female host approached a man in a down jacket.

From the camera's angle, the Blues fan seemed relaxed.

"As a Chelsea fan, do you think your team can win at home against Manchester United?"

"Well… I'm being objective—I know this season's Manchester United is strong."

The man shrugged: "My view is—if we're getting outplayed, we might as well give up. Compared to the FA Cup, Champions League qualification matters more to Chelsea—we need to hold onto a top-four spot."

The reporter widened his eyes, surprised a fan could be this realistic: "So you're just giving up? You think Chelsea has zero chance to beat Manchester United?"

"Oh, of course not—we have a chance. But if we want to beat Manchester United, we'd have to sacrifice too much. The London derby is coming up soon; Sarri should shift focus."

This season, the pressure on top Premier League teams has been immense.

Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool have already claimed three Champions League spots; the remaining seventeen teams are fighting desperately for the last one.

Chelsea is currently fourth, but Arsenal and Tottenham could overtake them at any moment.

"Sir, although you say that, I still wish your team luck today—because the FA Cup might be Chelsea's best chance to win a trophy this season."

…

"OK!"

"Hey guys, welcome to my stream! Lately, not many people have been tuning in—come on, show some love!"

Wang Chao chewed gum, rubbing his hands together.

He was ready for the next match!

"Today, Manchester United plays away at Chelsea. My take: low chance of a draw, high chance of a big Man Utd win."

Wang Chao explained his view to his stream viewers.

It was essentially the same as the Chelsea fan's earlier opinion.

This season, Chelsea realistically can't beat Manchester United. Wang Chao guessed that Chelsea would play seriously in the first half—but the moment they sensed no chance, they'd just give up.

Champions League qualification matters more to them!

【Big win over Chelsea? Seriously, can we trust this streamer?】

【Fake. Follow me—I'm betting on Chelsea to win outright.】

【You've eaten too much Sanlu milk powder? Didn't you see Tang Ye starting?】

【Hmm… conservative pick: bet on Tang Ye for most assists. I bought early—11% profit already.】

【Stop making money! Please, stop making money! (crying) (crying)】

"Believe me or not—it's up to you. I don't force anyone to follow my line of thought."

"But I can say this: following my analysis at least gives you a full understanding of the match, because my regular viewers know I'm the best football tactics analyst on the entire platform."

"Alright, the match is starting!"

After the referee blew the whistle, Wang Chao followed procedure to introduce Chelsea's starting lineup.

Chelsea (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Kepa

Defenders: Azpilicueta, Rudiger, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso

Midfielders: Kanté, Jorginho, Kovacic

Forwards: Pedro, Iguain, Hazard

Head Coach: Sarri

"Chelsea's lineup is still pretty strong—that's why I said a draw is possible."

"Put it this way: Chelsea is one of the few Premier League teams capable of holding Manchester United to a draw—though I mean the full-strength Manchester United, not the Asia Cup version."

"Wow wow wow!"

"Kanté, long ball straight ahead!"

"Iguain, pass to Hazard!"

"King Hazard! Show us your skill!"

The camera focused on Chelsea's left flank, where Hazard dribbled forward slowly.

His speed wasn't fast, but Azar's reputation was so great that Manchester United's defenders still paid close attention to him.

De Jong was watching, and Ziyech was also dropping back.

Tang Ye was also on the sideline, already locked onto Kovacic.

Azar adjusted himself, then passed the ball to Ibrahimović, who came to receive it.

Ibrahimović to Jorginho!

Jorginho to Pedro!

"Chelsea's attack is flowing well, but it's normal for the fourth-place team in the Premier League to play at this level."

"Pedro!"

"What's wrong with Pedro? Why isn't he going down the line? If you don't get down soon, Tang the Ball King's gonna tackle you!"

Whether or not he heard Wang Chao's urging, Pedro finally began to run down the flank.

Ibrahimović hadn't yet reached his position, so Pedro abandoned the direct cross and instead passed back to Kanté, who was advancing from behind.

Kanté cuts inside!

Pah!

He lofted a high ball toward Azar, and the Chelsea striker accelerated toward the byline.

Perfect control!

"Manchester United in danger! Manchester United!"

"Tang Ye, step up already!"

"Hmm, but now it's defense—Tang Ye finding space to step up is difficult."

Azar controlled the ball in front of him and, under Valencia's marking, drove straight into the penalty area.

Pass to Ibrahimović!

Thud!

Ibrahimović returned the through ball; Azar used his body to hold position and shoved Valencia behind him.

Straight into the box!

Facing Smalling's defense, Azar chose to keep the ball himself.

Change of rhythm!

Weight shifted up and down, speed quick then slow—Smalling's defense was shattered.

Pah!

A low shot struck the left post, bounced off, and hit De Gea.

Finally, into the net.

"Damn!"

"Damn!"

"Azar, I swear—I didn't mean it when I joked about letting him score, don't actually score!"

The situation on the pitch was truly unimaginable to anyone.

Thanks to the combination between Azar and Ibrahimović, Chelsea opened the scoring against Manchester United in the 8th minute of the first half.

"Wow!!!!!!"

Stamford Bridge erupted; Azar sprinted out quickly.

Sliding tackle!

Swish-swish-swish!!!

He spread his arms wide, mimicking the motion of peeling a pear—this was Azar's celebration.

"The scorer…"

"Hazard! (Hazard)"

"The scorer is…"

"Harzard!!!"

Fans chanted Azar's name in sync with the announcer; the scoreboard changed from 0:0 to 1:0.

Chelsea, playing at home, led 1-0!

"I… fuck, how the hell did he get in so easily?!"

Manchester United's defenders inside the box argued; De Gea confronted Smalling.

Smalling bore the greatest blame for this defensive lapse.

"Fuck, I couldn't help it."

Smalling shrugged.

"Forget it, forget it!"

Rodri shouted: "Bad luck—just get it back!"

Rodri's voice was loud.

When he first joined Manchester United last season, he was still just Tang Ye's junior, too afraid to yell at teammates.

But due to his outstanding performance, Rodri had gradually changed since the start of this season.

He was still Tang Ye's junior—his fundamental status hadn't changed.

But now, Rodri had significant influence within Manchester United's squad!

"Don't shift left and right—when attacking on the left, focus on the left."

The players made quick adjustments, and the match resumed soon after.

The camera cut to Ten Hag on the sideline.

Manchester United's head coach looked displeased.

The plan was three straight wins—yet they fell behind in the very first match!

What the hell!

"We're still too slow to get into the game."

Ten Hag spoke with Van Gaal beside him: "We need to fix this, or we'll struggle later in the league."

Premier League opponents all study each other—that's why tactics must keep evolving.

After nearly thirty rounds of league play, every Premier League coaching staff—including Manchester United's own—now knows the team's key weaknesses.

Chelsea today exploited Manchester United's weakness to create this opportunity.

"Hmm…"

Ten Hag took a deep breath and looked toward the opposing manager standing beside him.

Damn Sarri.

It's time to teach you a lesson!

…

(End of Chapter)