773 Transfer Window

For ordinary people, January represented the arrival of the new year, a holiday and snow. But for Europe's professional football clubs, January meant a busy transfer window.

Was there any area of the team that Nottingham Forest needed to supplement? Except for Gareth Bale's serious injury, Nottingham Forest's injury situation was still relatively minor. It had something to do with their good stamina reserves established during their summer preparations. The intensely competitive nature of the Christmas period did not drag down the team's fitness and naturally there would not be many inexplicable injuries.

Twain rarely purchased players during the winter transfer window unless he was forced to because there were a lot of restrictions on players who were bought halfway during this time. Moreover, this was not the time to buy good quality or cheap players. Good players finished moving in the summer and those left were either too expensive, limited in their level or unable to play in the Champions League. There was also the fact that the players who joined the team mid-way through the season often did not have time to familiarize themselves with the team's style because they had to play immediately. The degree of tacit understanding new arrivals had with their teammates could not be compared to those players who had joined in the summer. It would result in the team's play being affected.

Twain had told Evan and Allan a while ago that the Forest team would not buy anyone in January. There was no need for any purchase.

He might need to buy a left-back to supplement the team if Joe Mattock went out on loan. But for now, Mattock had been fairly solid after a couple of appearances, as you would expect when he had come highly recommended by Stuart Pearce, England's under-21 national team manager. It was great to have someone at the top. There was always a bargain to be had!

Twain was already focusing on developing Mattock as the Forest team's future left-back.

Even if Nottingham Forest did not sign on any players in the transfer window, it did not imply that their own players were not being coveted by the other teams.

After AC Milan's approach in the summer, no one had mentioned the signing of George Wood again. Everyone knew that English football produced the kind of old-fashioned stalwarts, such as Manchester United's Scholes and Giggs, Chelsea's Terry and Lampard, Liverpool's Gerrard and Carragher. It was almost a fantasy to want to buy such a player. Even though George Wood was currently young, he was already rising among the "stalwarts."

Wood was not for sale, but the other players did not have this label.

Aaron Lennon had attracted the attention of more and more other teams over the years as he played well for Nottingham Forest. This season seemed to be a good time to take him away from the City Ground stadium as Bentley, his direct rival in the national team, had been brought in by Twain. The media thought that Lennon would have some dissatisfaction. Although he did not show it, it must be frustrating to have someone competing for his place in the team in his preferred position when he had made great efforts to secure his spot.

Two clubs had already announced their interest in Lennon. One was England's Tottenham Hotspur. They had hoped to bring in Lennon before his transfer Nottingham Forest, but unfortunately for them, Lennon chose Tony Twain at that time. Tottenham Hotspur still refused to give up its "evil designs" on Lennon and still constantly had him on its mind.

The other team was La Liga's Valencia. Joaquín and Vicente, the pair of former Spanish golden wingers, were on the verge of turning thirty this year and frequent injuries affected their appearances. After David Silva was sold to Real Madrid, they lacked a new force on the wings. So, Valencia's top brass, who had weathered the economic crisis after much difficulty, had their sights set on Lennon, who was fast and good at breaking through and assisting on the sides.

In response to the rumors that these two clubs wanted to buy Lennon, Twain's response was "not for sale!"

He only had a few wingers to rotate, two on the left flank and two on the right flank. If he sold one, what would happen if the other player was suddenly injured? Furthermore, Lennon used to play in the Forest youth team and was also considered to have been trained by the Forest Youth Camp. He also played a role in the Champions League qualifier and had strong ties to Nottingham Forest. Twain had no intention of selling a player like that who had not make any unforgivable mistakes.

Kompany and Pepe were still sought after by a number of teams every year. After Piqué's departure, they were two of the mainstays in Nottingham Forest's rear defensive line. Woodgate was also good, but in terms of level and physical fitness, the first two players were still a little better. For these two players, Twain was also of the same attitude: they were not for sale.

What did Nottingham Forest rely on to prosper? How were they supposed to continue to compete if they sold their defensive backbone?

There was a team that was interested in Leighton Baines. It was not a big team, just a mid-tier Premier League team. Twain did not turn them down immediately. Now that it had been confirmed that Gareth Bale would play no further part in the season, it was unlikely that Twain would sell another left-back during the winter transfer window. However, Twain was open to the possibility that Baines could be for sale. If Mattock continued to develop, Baines would be ranked third in the team's left-back position, and keeping hold of him would not be good for the team. He was now twenty-five years old, and this was the time to sell for the best price.

In rejecting the offers from those teams, Twain added, "In the winter transfer window, we will not consider selling any of our left-backs."

With Twain starting to play the combination of double defensive midfielders this season, Tiago had also made a number of contributions in attack, so he had more chances to play than last season and had even edged ahead of Şahin. Tiago's excellent performances had attracted the attention of the other teams.

Portugal's Benfica was hoping to recall their old player and Spain's Villarreal also hoped to get him. Twain did not want to sell yet because he had not found a suitable successor. Twain would only decide to sell a player when he had identified an alternative in the same position so that he would not be derailed by some unexpected circumstances. He understood that there were many inexplicable surprises in life...

At the beginning of the season, Twain let John Bostock stay in the team because he felt the team had to compete in multiple tournaments and Bostock would not be short of opportunities to play and practice. But half a season later, he found that he was wrong. Bostock's chances of playing had been reduced as a result of tactical changes, and he had only played in the middle of midfield. His strength and experience ranked last among the four midfielders, so he naturally had the fewest opportunities to play. This was not conducive to his growth. Bostock had also been to talk to Twain alone. He certainly did not say that he intended to seek a transfer from Nottingham Forest but said that he wanted to go out on loan to get more appearances and gain experience.

Twain thought it over for a long time and finally agreed to his request. Adriano Moke, Nicolás Millán, and Victor Moses had been loaned out and their performances were a mixed bag, but it was better than sitting on the bench.

Since January, Nottingham Forest had received three applications to take Bostock on loan. One of them included the right to of first refusal for the player after a loan period. That club had been shot down directly by Twain. He did not want to sell Bostock yet. The boy had a great future but needed time to develop.

The two remaining clubs were Fulham and West Ham United. Twain agreed to both, and all that remained was up to Bostock to choose the team he wanted. He did not have to do anything else.

Chris Cohen, a low-profile player who had been honed and progressively emerged as a sharp player, had been favored by a number of teams after a season and a half of outstanding play. His and Matías Fernández's performance on the left flank continued the Forest team's tradition of focusing on the flanks and having good wingers. Fernández occasionally had to play in the middle while Cohen was also an all-rounder who was good at playing on both the wings and through the middle. But Twain put him on the wing because there were too many players in the center.

His performance lived up to Twain's expectations. He was diligent and never complained about sitting on the bench. He had two goals and six assists after playing half of the season. At first, he was seen as the second Kris Commons. Their names sounded similar and the media and pundits thought Cohen was a player who would leave the Forest team in the end after a few years on the substitutes' bench. They did not realize that Cohen had impressed the Forest coaching staff with his good attitude and strength. He not only stayed with the Forest team but also became a mainstay in the rotation with Fernández.

There was one thing that really demonstrated Chris Cohen's current level. In FM 2011, the famous football manager game that was just released less two months ago, Cohen's potential was fixed at 152, which was not a high figure and was not impressive when compared to those young wonderkids who were at 180 and above. But his data distribution was quite scientific. In the left midfielder position, which made use of a number of pieces of key data, his numbers were very good. His current ability of 145 allowed his passes and crosses to be at 16, his skills at 15, stopping the ball at 14, endurance up to 18, speed also at 14, and teamwork at the highest rating of 19.

The universal feedback from the gamers about such players was that they had low potential but could obtain high marks every game. They were very useful. Their other numbers did not look good, but their actual performance was excellent.

Sports Interactive and Nottingham Forest decided to collaborate. They could have the most direct and detailed observation of the Forest players, so the data given was generally the most authoritative. A lot of gamers who played FM liked to buy the Forest players because they were very useful regardless of their data. Maybe this was partiality on Sports Interactive's part? There was even talk of Tony Twain playing FM to coach the team to find the new wonderkids.

In terms of the strikers, Žigić's performance also marked the second turnaround of his career. As a center forward, the number of goals he scored was still not high, leading to many fans criticizing him. However, the people who were really savvy about football knew the importance of Žigić to the Forest team. Firstly, with him around, the Forest team had an absolute aerial advantage going forward. Secondly, his presence could greatly enrich the Forest team's offensive style. He could launch an attack from both sides and bombard the other team's goal. He was also a strong center forward and could receive passes well, allowing him to create chances for his teammates. Whether it was a long ball or a short pass, he was needed to bridge any gaps; furthermore, he could occasionally withdraw to be the center back and defend when the team was facing a set-piece.

Twain always valued a player who appeared average but could always play a role that was not noticed by ordinary people. Žigić's character was also clearly much better than that of his predecessor, Bendtner. He had been with the team for several years and had kept a low profile. He never created trouble. He was a low-key player but had now become like a light bulb in the night attracting bugs. Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Atlético Madrid, RCD Espanyol and Italy's Fiorentina and Napoli were all interested in signing him. He could both score goals and create chances for his teammates, in addition to having a great impact on the team's attacking tactics.

While the most attention-grabbing news in the transfer market each year was the transfer rumors of the superstar players, the fact remained that most of the deals that made up the transfer market were for these second-tier players.

Twain would certainly not be willing to sell Žigić. It was currently hard to find a good center forward. But then Allan Adams came to see him.

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Twain already knew what he wanted to do, but if Allan came to him first, most of the time it was not a good thing. If it was not about the club's financial constraints and how his plan to buy several players to bolster the team's strength was put on hold, then it would involve Allan saying that the club's financial situation was tight and there was a need for the team to sell a few players to ease the situation. Equally, Allan could be planning to tell him that he hoped Twain would pay attention in order to keep within the team's salary budget.

The relationship between the three most powerful members of the Nottingham Forest staff was delicate. The relationship between Evan and Allan needed no explanation. They were partners who had worked well together until now. As for Evan and Tony, they were friends who understood each other straight away and got along well. Whereas for Tony and Allan... it was a little complicated with them. On the one hand, they were colleagues and naturally needed to join forces to work together. For example, Twain needed Allan to conduct the negotiations most of the time when he was seeking to buy players. Occasionally, they could even joke and chat about the world. It was congenial between them. But on the other hand, also because of their working relationship, Twain and Allan sometimes had different priorities, so they naturally would not have too much affection for each other. Twain wanted to spend money, and Allan wanted to make money. This was the basic contradiction. In addition, there were times when Twain felt that Allan used the money as a cover to meddle too much in the team's affairs, which upset him a little.

This was, of course, Evan's style of management: everyone should control each other and that would make things more stable. But even he could not control how other people complained in their hearts.

Allan clearly knew what Twain thought of him, so he jokingly pointed out his purpose as soon as he saw Twain. "I know what's on your mind, Tony. You guessed right."

Twain glanced at him unkindly.

"Evan and I both think you should seriously consider the clubs' bids for Žigić."

"I need a center forward, Allan."

"Won't the Bosnian do?"

"He's still not good enough..."

"Then train him, Tony. We all believe in your ability to do so."

Twain spread his hands and bent his fingers, warming up like a magician would before he performed magic. He said, "Look, Allan. I have nothing in my hands now." Then he made clenched his fists and waved them in the air, before opening his hands up again. "I still have nothing. I'm not a magician who can make something out of nothing," the empty-handed Twain said to Allan.

"Tony, Millán and Moses are back next season. How are you going to arrange your forward line?" Allan asked, uninterested in Twain's conjuring sarcasm.

"Ruud will retire. Millán, Moses and Agbonlahor can play as wingers or attacking midfielders."

"We are not short of midfielders."

Twain shook his head and said, "I'm going to change the formation." He was going to go into detail about what the changes were, but upon seeing Allan's face, he lost interest. Twain could talk nonstop, but the American, with his half-baked knowledge, might not have understood much.

Allan sat down and sincerely said to Twain, "Tony, you know, we never asked you to sell the core players. But I really don't think Žigić is indispensable. He has done well in the last two seasons, so suddenly there are a lot of clubs interested in him. I am a businessman. I know that we should be decisive in selling when a product is at its most valuable stage. Otherwise, when the value declines, we can't even sell it when we want to sell. Selling Žigić will bring money into the club and reduce the wage bill, which I think is a very good deal."

Twain snorted in his mind. A businessman, of course, only talked about business.

But he did not hit back at Allan who at least said one thing right: Žigić was not an indispensable and irreplaceable player yet. Moreover, in his new squad, he really did not need that many strikers...

However, he needed a way out of an embarrassing situation. He said, "Give me a few days to think about it, Allan."

Allan Adams smiled and replied, "I'll be waiting to hear from you, Tony."

Allan said goodbye, and Twain leaned against his large desk. He turned to look at the training ground behind him. The team was still in training. His eyes were firmly fixed on the tallest man on the field.