Bosingwa's transfer was quickly completed.
Villas-Boas and Walsh travelled to Portugal to speak with Bosingwa, his family, and his agent before opening negotiations with Boavista. At first, the club made it clear that Bosingwa was a highly rated young prospect and that they had no intention of selling him.
However, after speaking with Mourinho over the phone, Bosingwa informed the club through his agent that he wanted to stay, but only if he was given regular first-team football.
It was clear that Bosingwa was not part of Boavista's first-team plans for the new season. Although they thought highly of the eighteen-year-old, they could not promise him a starting place.
Villas-Boas also had contacts among Boavista's senior officials. After some negotiation, New Manchester United submitted an opening offer of £200,000.
Boavista were not one of Portugal's major clubs and remained far behind established sides such as Porto, Sporting CP, and Benfica. For them, £200,000 was not an insignificant sum.
Even so, Boavista continued to hesitate and delayed giving a definite answer, showing that they genuinely had high expectations for Bosingwa's future.
"£300,000. Take it or leave it," Villas-Boas and Walsh finally told them after discussing the matter. "Accept, and we'll sign him. Refuse, and we won't trouble you again."
In fact, the offer was already considerably higher than the fee Porto would pay for Bosingwa several years later. With the player determined to leave, Boavista eventually had little choice but to accept New Manchester United's proposal.
When Ethan received Walsh's call in Manchester and learned that Bosingwa had been secured for £300,000, he breathed a sigh of relief.
However, he also knew that Steinsson, who had performed well the previous season, was about to face a difficult challenge. He was not the type of full-back Mourinho preferred.
That was professional football.
There was no room for sympathy or tears.
After Bosingwa's transfer was finalised, the scouting department compiled a list of suitable and potentially available players for New Manchester United and delivered it to Ethan.
Most of the names came from the lower divisions of English football. Since New Manchester United were now in League Two, recruiting from the levels beneath them was the most realistic and straightforward option.
However, Ethan studied the entire list without recognising a single name, which left him disappointed.
"There is another player I think we should try to sign," Cassel said, looking toward Ethan. "But I'm afraid it might upset a few people."
Mourinho, who was standing nearby, looked at him in surprise. He could not understand why signing a player would cause any trouble.
"He plays for Manchester City," Cassel said with a wry smile.
So the player came from their local rivals.
A name immediately entered Ethan's mind, although he considered it unlikely. Manchester City thought highly of the player. He was not exactly untouchable, but he was certainly regarded as one of their most promising young talents.
"Are you talking about Shaun Wright-Phillips?" Ethan asked.
Cassel nodded.
"That's him. Our scouts have watched him train. He's very short, which was why Nottingham Forest released him, but his pace is exceptional. His low centre of gravity also makes him an excellent dribbler."
"He's a player worth developing."
"But Manchester City must have noticed that as well. They won't simply let a promising youngster leave," Ethan replied.
Cassel smiled.
"Manchester City need money, Boss."
Ethan froze before reconsidering the situation.
Cassel was right.
Manchester City desperately needed money.
They had won promotion from Division Two two years earlier, then invested heavily during their season in Division One and successfully reached the Premier League. Their most important objective for the coming campaign was survival.
As a result, they had begun an aggressive recruitment drive.
First, they signed former World Player of the Year George Weah after Vialli decided not to keep him. Although Manchester City did not pay AC Milan a transfer fee, Weah's wages were far from modest.
They then spent £3.65 million to sign Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope from West Ham United.
Next came Alf-Inge Haaland from Leeds United for £2.5 million, the unfortunate player whose career would later be severely damaged by Roy Keane's tackle in a Manchester derby.
They had also spent £3.5 million on Kevin Horlock from Newcastle United.
Manchester City manager Joe Royle had now turned his attention to Aston Villa's Eyal Berkovic. To persuade Villa to sell the Premier League star, City would probably need to offer at least £6 million to £8 million, and they were doing everything possible to raise the money.
Beyond the transfer fees, the wages of their new signings were also substantial. Manchester City were also redeveloping their Carrington training ground, which required another major investment.
Under those circumstances, they might well consider selling Wright-Phillips to help fund a move for Berkovic.
Ethan was still looking at the situation through the eyes of someone from 2010. He instinctively believed that Wright-Phillips, like Rooney at Everton, would not be allowed to leave easily. Manchester City would surely wait for him to establish himself before selling him to a major club for a huge fee.
But football at the time did not work that way.
John Terry, for example, was already twenty but still played primarily for Chelsea's youth team. Although supporters who followed the academy believed he could become a future leader, he was only called into the first team when necessary, making very few appearances and receiving little genuine trust.
Besides, the English media declared several young players to be future superstars every year.
How many of them actually succeeded?
Only a few years later, seventeen-year-old Cesc Fàbregas would become a regular starter for Arsenal. Denílson would establish himself there at twenty. Lionel Messi would already be one of Barcelona's most important players at twenty and win the World Player of the Year award at twenty-two. Cristiano Ronaldo would replace Beckham at Manchester United at eighteen and win the same award at twenty-three.
As access to information improved, more talented youngsters began attracting the attention of major clubs. They were given first-team opportunities much earlier, gaining experience and developing rapidly through regular football.
But at that moment, the situation was different.
Terry was certainly highly rated, yet while Vialli publicly called for more English players, every player he signed that summer came from abroad.
Manchester City were no different.
Not long before, The FA chairman had publicly urged Premier League clubs to follow the example of youth-focused teams such as Leeds United, West Ham United, and Manchester United by giving more opportunities to domestic youngsters.
Even so, those clubs still relied heavily on foreign players.
Manchester United were a clear example. Foreign players accounted for around half of their starting lineup, even before including non-English British and Irish players such as Keane and Giggs.
And which players were Manchester United currently pursuing?
Ruud van Nistelrooy from the Netherlands, Rivaldo from Brazil, and several other foreign stars.
Around the turn of the century, the environment was simply not favourable for developing young players. Clubs were spending enormous sums on established stars.
England was slightly better, but the trend was even more obvious in Spain and Italy. The major clubs did not develop enough of their own players, while smaller clubs could not keep the talent they produced.
Everyone believed players from elsewhere were better.
It was only after several years of excessive spending, when the transfer market began to cool and registration rules changed, that clubs started paying greater attention to youth development.
At that point, young talents began emerging everywhere.
However, years of relentless spending had already inflated transfer fees and raised supporters' expectations. Multi-million-pound deals no longer seemed particularly remarkable.
Ethan was still influenced by that later way of thinking.
...
Once he understood the situation, Ethan finally realised that signing Wright-Phillips might not be impossible.
He immediately asked Cassel to contact Manchester City and enquire about the player's availability.
Manchester City had previously shown interest in Krzynówek, but Birmingham had beaten them to his signature, leaving them deeply frustrated.
They had not expected New Manchester United to respond by attempting to sign one of their young prospects.
City rejected the enquiry immediately.
Ethan had anticipated that reaction. Ignoring their refusal, he sent an official fax containing New Manchester United's opening offer.
£700,000.
Wright-Phillips had barely played in Division One the previous season and was now nineteen. New Manchester United's offer was entirely reasonable, but Manchester City still showed no desire to sell.
Two days later, after receiving no encouragement, Ethan raised the bid to £800,000, the same amount New Manchester United had paid for Juninho.
Homegrown players in Britain generally commanded higher fees because they did not face work-permit restrictions, but even then, the offer was substantial.
Eidur Gudjohnsen, for comparison, was a gifted Icelandic forward who had established himself as a regular starter and performed extremely well for Bolton in Division One. Yet Chelsea had only been willing to offer around £3 million and refused to go higher.
Wright-Phillips, meanwhile, could not even secure regular playing time in the same division.
That comparison showed how serious New Manchester United's bid was.
Of course, Gudjohnsen had not joined Chelsea mainly because they had instead signed New Manchester United's highly rated Nikola Žigić. His height and aerial ability were expected to give Chelsea's attack far more variety.
At the time, Premier League clubs generally preferred two types of forward: powerful target men and quick strikers.
Most teams used a partnership combining height and pace, and the approach was usually effective.
Manchester City still appeared dissatisfied with New Manchester United's offer, but Ethan knew there was no reason to rush.
He began shifting his attention toward other transfer targets.
After all, the first rule of negotiation was to make the other side believe you had several alternatives. That gave you greater leverage.
At the same time, Ethan had already identified suitable candidates for central midfield and central defence.
He therefore travelled to Norway, where he intended to meet a future captain of the Norwegian national team, an extremely capable center-back who remained largely unknown outside his homeland.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)