But the transfer market outside has already been turned upside down.
The end of the summer transfer window is getting closer and closer, and the major clubs only have one last chance to make an offer.
Whether or not we can get this year's super star depends on these few days.
Newspapers from various media outlets also focused on Gu Ran's transfer news - of course there were exceptions, for example, The Sun was still serializing the untold story between Gu Ran and Sister NO and Linda, and the sales of The Sun also increased compared to a month ago.
In the transfer market, Manchester United was the first to make an offer for super star Gu Ran, which was also their first offer to Gu Ran: 12 million pounds, plus 30% of the profits from secondary sales.
All the previous ones were just smokescreens and price hikes, this time is Manchester United’s real offer.
For Manchester United to make such an offer shows great sincerity.
Coach Ferguson also accepted an exclusive interview with The Times, expressing his love for Gu Ran and praising the Red Devil spirit embodied in Gu Ran.
The second club to make the final offer during the summer transfer window was Liverpool FC. In fact, Liverpool FC had already invested a large amount of transfer funds in the transfer of other star players. The transfer funds on hand were not much, not enough to make a high offer to Gu Ran.
However, the female boss Linda often called and texted Gu Ran privately. Through this communication, the smart Linda was very keenly aware that Gu Ran had no intention of transferring away from Southampton in the past year.
Gu Ran will neither transfer to Liverpool nor to any other club.
Therefore, Linda made a bold offer, even though Liverpool Club could not afford the money.
Although this approach is a bit bluffing, it can at least maintain Liverpool's enthusiasm for pursuing Gu Ran.
Liverpool's transfer offer to Gu Ran was 16 million pounds, plus an additional bonus based on match performance, with the maximum contract value reaching 20 million pounds.
Such transfer conditions also appear to be full of sincerity.
But in comparison, Manchester City was much more direct. It offered 22 million pounds in one go, which was higher than Liverpool's bluffing offer.
Arsenal also put forward their final offer to Gu Ran - zero down payment, 18 million pounds, monthly installments, and two friendly matches could be arranged, with the income from the friendly matches going entirely to Southampton Club.
Arsenal head coach Wenger also accepted an interview with The Guardian. In the interview, Wenger said that Arsenal was only a little bit away from signing the super star Gu Ran.
Chelsea also changed its previous cautious bidding attitude and directly offered a high price of 20 million pounds, striving to sign Gu Ran in these last few days.
Faced with offers from these giants, Southampton Club rejected them all.
Such news also made Southampton fans very happy.
Over the years, Southampton has been a black market, selling stars in various ways. This year, facing such high profits, Southampton finally held back! This means that the championship is just around the corner!
On Tuesday, August 31st, the first round of the knockout stage of the English Championship Pioneer Cup Southern Division, Southampton's away challenge to Swindon City began!
Although the British Championship is not well-known in China, it is very prestigious in the UK.
The participating teams are 24 League One teams + 24 League Two teams + 16 invited Premier League youth teams (under U23). The total of 64 teams are divided into two divisions, North and South. Each division is divided into 8 groups, each with 4 teams. Each group has at least one League One, League Two and Premier League youth team, and a single round-robin group stage will be played. Southampton, as the champion of the previous session, can directly enter the knockout stage.
Unlike other cup competitions, if there is a tie in the knockout stage of the British Championship, there will be no need for overtime, but instead a penalty shootout.
English League One and English League Two teams must have at least five registered first-team players starting in every game, while Premier League youth teams must have at least six U21 players starting.
The total prize money is 1.95 million pounds, with an average win of 10,000 pounds per game, and the final champion wins 100,000 pounds.
Many young players in the English Premier League regard the British Championship as a stepping stone for their own success, so they are very attentive to the British Championship.
Southampton's opponent in this round, Swindon City, is also a League One team.
As a well-known team in southern football, Swindon Town was also very strong in its early days and won the English League Cup in the 1968/69 season.
Southampton has never won the English League Cup or the top league title. They only won the FA Cup in 1975 and the English Championship in 2009.
In comparison, Swindon Town is currently ranked almost at the bottom of English Football League One, and its overall strength is obviously weaker than that of Southampton.
So, for Southampton, today's game is another one where the strong team beats the weak.
In this game, Coach Adkins deployed a 442 formation and played side breakthroughs.
Lallana, Schneiderlin, Chamberlain, Gourlay and other main players all started, while Gu Ran, who had been too brutal in the last match, was kept on the bench by coach Adkins to watch the game.
Swindon City sent out their entire main lineup. After all, this is Swindon City's home ground and they must go all out.
Before the game, William Hill also gave high odds of home win 4.02, draw 3.79, and loss 1.84.
It can be seen that although Gu Ran did not start, the betting companies are still very optimistic that the more motivated Southampton team will be able to win easily away from home.
At the beginning of the game, after the two sides tested each other several times, Swindon City suddenly made a straight pass from the midfield area to Southampton's penalty area.
Swindon Town doesn't have any big-name players, but their basic skills are still very solid. Their tactics are to pass the ball directly to the area behind the defenders, while relying on the forwards to accelerate and sprint diagonally, so as not to waste energy in the midfield with Southampton.
I have to say that this style of play is simple, but it is very detrimental to Southampton.
Southampton's defenders are old and young. They are good in close combat, but when faced with a sudden through pass, they turn around and chase too slowly.
Once attacked from behind, Southampton's defensive line can be easily torn apart.
In order to play against weaker teams, Southampton's wingers and midfielders pressed closer, which made the back line more dangerous when the ball was passed directly behind them.
If Southampton pulls the back line back, the backcourt and the frontcourt will easily become disconnected, and a strong defensive midfielder will be needed to connect the backcourt and the frontcourt.
But the problem is that Hammond cannot bear the heavy responsibility of a defensive midfielder - a defensive midfielder needs to keep running without the ball, and Hammond either runs too slowly or runs in the wrong direction.
Coach Adkins naturally saw this, but he still wanted to see where the depth of Southampton's lineup was and whether Southampton's players could crush Swindon City with their personal abilities.
After all, direct passes are prone to errors, so theoretically, as long as there are more offsides and more pressure, it will be difficult for the weak team Swindon City to seize the opportunity.
In the 7th minute of the game, Swindon City relied on a direct pass. Their 18-year-old striker Danny Ward, who was on loan from Bolton, ran out to receive the ball in the gap behind him, and then shot a powerful shot at the top of the arc. The ball hit the goal frame and bounced back, and was cleared out of the sideline by Martin who made a timely substitution. Southampton also escaped a disaster.
Having tasted success, Swindon Town began to make frequent straight passes.
Southampton's backcourt was struggling to cope, there was an obvious disconnect between the midfield and the backcourt, the defenders did not dare to go forward at all, and there was a large empty area between the midfielders and defenders.
Swindon City's two forwards stayed in the huge gap between the defenders and midfielders, roaming back and forth, waiting for opportunities.
Lallana and other front-line stars were struggling to get the ball after running around in the frontcourt, and the entire Southampton team was a little confused because of Swindon City's seemingly simple straight pass tactics.
Fortunately, Swindon City's overall strength was not high enough, and many straight passes were wasted by themselves as coach Adkins expected - if it were a Premier League team, Southampton's defense would have been beaten into a sieve long ago.
Southampton also had many opportunities to change the game. Chamberlain was very active on the left, but Swindon Town's goalkeeper played bravely today and saved at least three of Southampton's sure goals.
After all, Southampton's finishing ability in the midfield and frontcourt is still a bit lacking.
Playing against such a weak team, Southampton's midfield and frontcourt pressed forward almost madly, but after failing to break through for a long time, Southampton's mentality began to become impatient.
Both sides made many mistakes and fouls, and it was difficult for Southampton to play a smooth offensive game.
However, this is not a big problem for Swindon Town, who play a simple, straightforward style of play. They still adhere to the tactic of passing the ball with a long kick whenever they have the chance, so basically as long as they have the ball, they can launch an attack - although sometimes they will just kick the ball out of the sideline.
The first half was rather dull and the big score that everyone had expected did not occur.
In terms of ball possession, Southampton naturally had a high rate, but Swindon's direct passing style of play did not require much ball possession. On the contrary, several direct pass raids made Southampton very embarrassed.
In the first half of injury time, Swindon City's 24-year-old Irish youth international Alan Sheehan suddenly made a straight pass near the midline. Danny Ward was in an offside position, but he still quickly flashed into the penalty area and headed the ball! The referee did not blow the whistle!
Goalkeeper Davis made a hasty diving save...
The attack was so sudden that Davis barely blocked it but failed to catch the ball, which bounced back to Danny Ward's feet.
Danny Ward made a counter-attack!
Davis is helpless!
The ball went in! The referee gestured to the center circle, indicating that the goal was valid!
Southampton players immediately surrounded the referee to complain, but the referee ignored them and insisted on his decision.
The score on the big screen at the Village Stadium immediately changed to Swindon Town 1:0 Southampton.
Although the referee was blind, Southampton's offside tactics still got themselves in trouble.
Coach Adkins' brows were twisted into a knot.
After the halftime break, both sides returned to the court and changed sides to continue the game.
Swindon Town still maintains a simple and effective straight pass and diagonal run tactic.
After 15 minutes of rest and adjustment, the Southampton players obviously still couldn't find their feeling and they still played in a messy and disorganized manner.
As time goes by, if this continues, the defending champion will be ruthlessly eliminated in the first round.
Coach Adkins sighed and started making substitutions.
Gu Ran came on the pitch and replaced the left-back Ryan Dixon who had performed poorly.
Veteran vice-captain Walton came on the field, replacing center back Martin.
——The offensive situation was unfavorable, and Southampton replaced two defenders at once.
Chamberlain and Schneiderlin moved back to serve as wingbacks on both wings, Lambert and Gu Ran served as defensive midfielders, Lallana served as attacking midfielder, and Gully and Garrod served as forwards.
The three-defender position is also a conscious effort to tighten the defensive line. The double defensive midfielders are used to intercept the running of Swindon City's forwards, the two wingbacks are responsible for connecting the straight passes from the flanks, and Lallana is responsible for connecting the midfield and frontcourt.
This change in formation, coupled with Gu Ran's appearance, had an immediate effect.
In the 57th minute of the second half——
Gu Ran used the violent aesthetic power of a sprint in the backcourt to push away Swindon City's forward, easily intercepted Swindon City's through pass, and then drove straight into the goal along the central axis with the ball.
Swindon Town had almost no control over the midfield. They did not engage in a tangle with Southampton in the midfield, but instead quickly moved back to the penalty area to form an iron bucket defense.
In the first half, Swindon Town also adopted the same defensive strategy, and their intensive defense also caused a lot of headaches for Southampton's midfield and frontcourt players.
Gu Ran dribbled the ball unhindered to the front of Swindon's penalty area.
The Swindon team had naturally watched Gu Ran's short video, so when Gu Ran arrived at the front of the big metal, they immediately launched a targeted arc defense against Gu Ran.
Gu Ran was not in a hurry to pass the ball, but calmly dribbled the ball along the edge of the penalty area and cut inwards to pass through players continuously.
After a series of horizontal cuts, Gu Ran easily tore open a hole in Swindon City's curved defense line.
While Gu Ran was involving Swindon City, Southampton's frontcourt players took the opportunity to infiltrate the penalty area.
Southampton's movement at this moment showed the level of the English Premier League.
And it is obvious that Gu Ran is the catalyst.
Gu Ran dribbled the ball from the middle to the left, saw an opportunity, and decisively passed the ball into the empty space in the penalty area.
Gu Li, who was ready to score, shot in front of the goal.
Swindon City's goalkeeper, 33-year-old veteran David Lucas, was a little slow to react! The ball went in! Gu Ran assisted the game just two minutes after he came on the pitch! The score on the big screen immediately changed to Swindon City 1:1 Southampton.
The Swindon Town players all looked a little frustrated.
Gu Ran easily connected Southampton's originally loose midfield and frontcourt.
And this is just the beginning.
Five minutes later, Swindon City made a straight pass from the left side. Gu Ran predicted it in advance and used the impact of his body to hold off the Swindon City midfielder who was receiving the ball, and then passed the ball to Chamberlain.
Chamberlain immediately dribbled the ball along the sideline!
Chamberlain is very fast, but Gu Ran is even faster when he doesn't have the ball. In just a few seconds, Gu Ran goes straight to the middle and cooperates with Chamberlain.
After Chamberlain dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area and attracted at least three defensive players, he made a beautiful fake breakthrough and then passed the ball to Gu Ran. After Gu Ran got the ball, he once again pulled the ball horizontally outside the penalty area. Lallana, Guli and Garrod desperately rushed into the penalty area to support and prepare to score.
Swindon City's defenders were a little confused and didn't know who to focus on defending.
There were only two defensive players double-teaming Gu Ran, but the strength of their defense was clearly not enough.
Gu Ran was not polite either. He directly used Matthews' shoulder twice at the top of the penalty area, knocking down the two players defending him to the ground.
Gu Ran rushed in with the ball, and before other defensive players could rush up to intercept, Gu Ran fired a powerful shot! The ball went straight into the upper right corner of the goal like a cannonball! Swindon City goalkeeper David Lucas had no time to react and was stuck in place!
The ball went in! Southampton scored two goals in five minutes! This was also Gu Ran's first goal in the British Championship! The score on the big screen immediately changed to Swindon City 1:2 Southampton. Southampton completed the reversal!
The faces of Swindon City's players were filled with despair. Their iron formation was completely unable to restrict Gu Ran's performance in the backcourt, midfield or frontcourt!
In the 72nd minute, it was Gu Ran who advanced on the central axis again. After attracting at least seven defensive players, Gu Ran made a beautiful pass that penetrated Swindon City's iron bucket defense, which had not yet taken shape, and sent the ball to the feet of young forward Garod.
Garrod did it in one fell swoop!
The score on the big screen changed to Swindon Town 1:3 Southampton! Southampton had come back from 1 to 3! Southampton might have had many problems in the first half, but after Gu Ran was substituted in, the only problem was how to make Gu Ran play more restrainedly.
In the 88th minute, Swindon Town, which had already lost its will to win, played with fire in the backcourt. Gu Ran got to the front midfielder position, saw the opportunity and rushed forward to completely steal the ball with his body, then passed the ball to Chamberlain who was actively moving up on the left side.
Chamberlain immediately dribbled the ball to the side of the penalty area and shot directly into the far corner!
Swindon's goalkeeper has already abandoned the goal and there is nothing he can do to save the situation!
The ball went in again!
The score on the big screen immediately changed to Swindon Town 1:4 Southampton.
Southampton came back from 1-0 down to 4-0!
After scoring the goal, Chamberlain slid to his knees and slid in front of Gu Ran, hugging Gu Ran's thighs tightly with both hands to celebrate...
Beep, beep, beep!
After 3 minutes of injury time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.
In the end, the defending champion of the British Championship eliminated Swindon Town, a rival of the same level, at the Village Stadium and successfully advanced to the second round of the Southern Division! Gu Ran made 3 assists and 1 goal, dominated the game with his wonderful performance, and won the best player of the game with a score of 8.2.
——The main reason for the low score is that Gu Ran’s appearance time was only 40 minutes.
At the post-match press conference, Swindon head coach Danny Wilson praised Gu Ran's performance. Danny Wilson was very envious of Coach Adkins for having a super star player like Gu Ran.
Coach Adkins was also very satisfied with Southampton's performance after he replaced Gu in the second half.
After this game, Gu Ran's "Physical Fitness" increased to 82 points, "Dribbling" increased to 76 points, "Crossing" increased to 68 points, and "Prediction" increased to 68 points.
——This time, the growth rate increases by only 4.
The "cross" attribute is displayed for the first time.
This time the system score was only S-level, so you can only participate in hidden lotteries but cannot reset points or reorganize.
After all, the opponent was too weak and he didn't get enough playing time.
However, having an S lottery is better than having nothing. Besides, the competition density is so high and the strength of the opponents varies. It is impossible to guarantee an SS-level score in every game.
This time, Gu Ran drew the "Rearfoot Dribbling" skill.
Although the growth reward is low, this lottery is still very powerful, and the reverse dribbling skill is quite practical.
The dribbling with the opposite foot immediately increased from +3 to +6.
Before this game, Gu Ran automatically exchanged for 2 talent points, and then Gu Ran allocated these 2 talent points to the balance attribute and flexibility attribute respectively. In this way, the balance attribute and flexibility attribute were increased to 78 points.
At this point, the entire August competition is over.
The next game will be the fifth round of the English League One at 3 pm on Saturday, September 4th, when Southampton will challenge Colchester United away.
After the players returned to Staplewood training base by bus, Coach Adkins held a brief summary meeting.
Coach Adkins is very satisfied with the players' performance this month, so the team will have two days off. All players need to return to the training ground on September 3 to prepare for the 5th round of the English League One.
The Southampton players immediately cheered happily.
After the breakup, Walton and other players immediately ran over to surround Gu Ran, "Hey, Gu! I'm going to hold a birthday party tomorrow night. You promised me that you must come then."
Gu Ran smiled helplessly, "Deputy Captain, I really don't like parties."
Walton said quickly, "Don't worry, there won't be many outsiders at the party tomorrow night. Almost all of them will be our own people! Moreover, there will be a mysterious star guest!"
Captain Davis also came over and said with a smile: "Come on, Gu, we have two days off. The competition density is so high, and we finally have the opportunity to get together."
"Well... okay." Gu Ran shrugged, "Since both captains said so, I will definitely go tomorrow night."
"Yeah! That's great!"
"Let's party together tomorrow night!"
"I'll go back and prepare the arrangements tonight!"
"Gu, go back and rest early, we'll see you tomorrow!"
"Okay, see you tomorrow." While packing his personal belongings, Gu Ran couldn't help but think: Which basketball star will be at tomorrow's birthday party?
At this moment, a photo text message was received on the mobile phone.
Supermodel Abbey Clancy continues to persevere.
Gu Ran was almost moved by her persistence.
Gu Ran critically browsed through Abbey Clancy's photos, then drove to Hayden Manor.
It's been a long time since I rode a horse...
(End of this chapter)