Before arriving in France, Ethan almost boarded the wrong flight and ended up in Rouen, the historic city that had once been one of the largest in Europe. His actual destination, however, was Louhans, a small town near Lyon.
Rouen and Louhans were entirely different places. Ethan did not speak French and had no idea how to pronounce either name properly, but on his travel notes, the two had looked deceptively similar.
Louhans was a small town with only a few thousand residents, more like a large suburban village than a city. Its convenient location at the junction of several major roads had encouraged economic growth and gradually transformed it into a modest regional centre.
After becoming accustomed to Manchester, Ethan found visiting a place like this a refreshing experience.
His purpose for coming was to find Louhans-Cuiseaux, a semi-professional club that had won promotion to Ligue 2 the previous year, only to be relegated again after a single season.
After changing trains at Tournus, Ethan boarded a bus that took him directly into Louhans. Once he arrived, he stepped off and hailed a taxi at the roadside.
"Do you know how to get to Louhans-Cuiseaux?" Ethan asked in English.
The driver gave him a strange look. Once he realised Ethan was a foreign traveller, his expression relaxed and he nodded.
"Of course. Everyone around here knows Louhans!"
Ethan climbed into the taxi and asked the driver to take him there.
"Where are you from? Are you a supporter?" the driver asked.
Taxi drivers seemed to be the same everywhere. They all enjoyed chatting while they drove, especially when they encountered visitors from abroad.
Jim was like that, and so was this driver.
"England," Ethan replied quietly.
He was exhausted after the long journey.
At times, he wished he could delegate these matters to his staff, but everyone was already occupied with other responsibilities.
Villas-Boas had begun travelling across England to gather detailed information on every opponent New Manchester United would face that season.
The material he collected went far beyond predicting possible starting lineups. It included match footage, individual strengths and weaknesses, and even whether each player favoured his right or left foot.
Once everything had been organised, Villas-Boas would compile several reports and distribute them to Mourinho, the coaching staff, and the players.
It was an enormous undertaking.
Ethan had originally planned to assign him several assistants, but Villas-Boas had smiled bitterly and declined.
"This is intelligence work. Sometimes, too many people only make things more complicated. It's easier for me to handle it alone."
With that, he had begun his journey around English football.
It also made Ethan realise that the game was no longer decided solely by what happened on the pitch. Increasingly, off-field preparation shaped everything that occurred during a match.
Mourinho wanted to control as many of those external factors as possible, using them to influence the outcome before the players even stepped onto the field.
Walsh, meanwhile, had become occupied with the club's membership programme.
New Manchester United already had more than forty thousand registered members, generating over £400,000 in annual fees. However, that money was not pure profit. Every year, the club had to produce high-quality gifts, club publications, and fixture lists to send to supporters.
This season, New Manchester United also planned to introduce several online benefits for members, including prize draws for season tickets, in the hope of attracting even more registrations.
The club was also preparing to sign a kit-supply agreement with Umbro, which Ethan had acquired. The one-year contract was worth £50,000.
At the same time, Walsh was searching for sponsors in the Newton Heath area. Several companies had already shown interest in supporting New Manchester United, and the club expected to raise enough sponsorship income to offset part of its transfer expenditure.
Although joining the professional leagues would bring in additional revenue, Ethan's investment would still be essential.
While Ethan sat in the back seat thinking about club matters, the driver continued talking endlessly about Louhans.
"Have you heard of Alou Diarra?" Ethan suddenly asked, interrupting him.
"Alou Diarra?" The driver thought for a moment. "Of course. The tall black lad. Very strong and covers a lot of ground."
"He only played twice for the team last season, though. I remember one of those appearances was in a relegation match against Châteauroux. He came on for the final twenty-five minutes and did quite well."
At the mention of Châteauroux, the driver quickly changed the subject.
"They were just as unlucky as Louhans!"
He began explaining Châteauroux's misfortune. They had once played in Ligue 1, but after being relegated, they had competed alongside Louhans in Ligue 2 the previous season.
No one had expected both clubs to fall again.
"Before the season, Châteauroux were considered promotion contenders. Who would have thought they would end up being relegated to the National alongside us? That's bad luck, isn't it?" the driver said with a slightly gleeful laugh.
Ethan could not help smiling.
The man clearly cared about Louhans and had been hurt by their relegation. Making fun of Châteauroux was simply his way of making himself feel better.
Although he was already middle-aged, his love for football remained completely genuine.
At that moment, Ethan suddenly remembered Florent Malouda, the powerful left winger who would later play for Chelsea.
Malouda seemed to be playing for Châteauroux at this point.
Now that the club had been relegated, what had happened to him?
Ethan immediately took out his phone and called England, asking the club staff to investigate.
If they could sign Malouda, whether Wright-Phillips joined or not would become far less important.
...
Louhans-Cuiseaux had been founded in 1970 and spent many years in the lower reaches of French football before finally earning promotion to Ligue 2 in 1995.
After three seasons, they were relegated again. They returned after only one year, winning promotion from the National the previous season.
The supporters had hoped the club might remain in Ligue 2 for several years this time, but after only one campaign, they were sent straight back down.
Worse still, Louhans had spent heavily in an attempt to avoid relegation, leaving the club in serious financial difficulty.
As a result, they had no choice but to sell several players to raise funds and survive the crisis.
When Louhans' directors met Ethan, they immediately understood that he must have come because one of their players had attracted his attention.
Under normal circumstances, that might have been unwelcome news.
For Louhans, however, it felt more like a lifeline.
They probably wished every fringe player who contributed little to the team could attract a buyer and bring in enough money to rescue the club from its current predicament.
Alou Diarra was not a regular first-team player, but he was an extremely promising young midfielder.
In his previous life, Ethan had often signed him in Football Manager, so he knew something about his career. He remembered that Diarra was supposed to join Bayern Munich's youth system that summer.
Moving to a major club at nineteen allowed Diarra to attract attention earlier than several other players who shared his surname. However, during two years at Bayern, he never appeared for the first team and played only for the reserves in the regional leagues.
His performances there were good enough to attract Liverpool in 2002.
Yet even at the Premier League club, Diarra failed to receive an opportunity. He was loaned successively to Le Havre, Bastia, and Lens.
His strong performances in Ligue 1 eventually earned him a place in the French national team, and Lens ultimately brought him back to France permanently.
After establishing himself there, Diarra took part in the 2006 World Cup, transferred to Lyon, and again struggled for opportunities.
He soon moved to Bordeaux, where he became captain and later earned selection for France's squad at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Yet at that moment, a player capable of achieving all that could barely get onto the pitch for Louhans.
The explanation was simple.
The club's relegation battle had been too desperate. Their coaches did not dare trust an inexperienced young player without a professional background, leaving Diarra with few opportunities while he watched helplessly as the team went down.
When he heard that an English club wanted to sign him, Diarra was immediately delighted.
New Manchester United might only play in England's fourth tier, but they were a fully professional club. Louhans, by contrast, could offer him only a part-time agreement.
Ethan also promised that Diarra would receive genuine first-team opportunities.
League Two contained twenty-four clubs, meaning forty-six league matches each season. With the League Cup, FA Cup, and Football League Trophy added, New Manchester United could play close to sixty matches.
Mourinho planned to maintain a first-team squad of between twenty-three and twenty-five players.
That meant every member of the squad would receive enough playing time.
After hearing Ethan's explanation and considering Louhans' financial condition, Diarra did not hesitate for long.
The presence of several French players at New Manchester United also eased his concerns about adapting to life in England.
Under those circumstances, Louhans had little reason to obstruct the departure of a part-time player.
After a brief discussion, the club agreed to sell Alou Diarra for £60,000.
Diarra reached an agreement with Ethan the same day. The formal contract would be signed after he travelled to Manchester and completed his medical examination.
After securing Diarra, Ethan did not leave France.
He returned to Lyon before travelling directly to Châteauroux.
The club staff in Manchester had already confirmed that Châteauroux had indeed been relegated to the French National.
As with every relegated club, several of their more promising players had already attracted interest from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 sides.
However, Florent Malouda was not among them.
That delighted Ethan, but it also left him puzzled.
Was Malouda not supposed to join Ligue 1 side Guingamp that summer?
Why had no move happened yet?
(To be continued.)