The new season hasn't even started yet, but the club's revenue is already set to surpass last season's!
"So why are you here today? Don't tell me you're here to comfort me, are you?"
Although Ouyang Bing fully agreed with Huang Hao in her heart, she always spoke in an unyielding manner.
"It's like this, Ouyang, I need you, my great housekeeper, to give me some confidence. Let's see how much money we can spend in the transfer market this summer."
Huang Hao didn't make any more pleasantries and directly stated his purpose.
"How much do you want?"
Although the club's money wasn't Ouyang Bing's, finance personnel sometimes have an inherent sense of ownership.
This always made Huang Hao feel a bit awkward whenever he wanted to ask Ouyang Bing for money.
"Uh, it's hard to say, but we definitely need to spend some money this summer, after all, we'll be in the Premier League next season."
"I believe these investments will definitely be worth it in the Premier League."
Ouyang Bing nodded; she had heard about the Premier League's earning potential before.
Cambridge United alone would receive at least 30 million pounds from broadcast rights next season.
"We have already received over 3 million in broadcast fees, and season ticket sales have reached over 9,000, bringing in nearly 4 million so far."
Ouyang Bing's figures completely stunned Huang Hao!
He had expected the earning speed to accelerate upon entering the Premier League, but he hadn't imagined it would be this fast!
"Never mind the broadcast fees, our ticket sales have already reached 4 million?"
"To be precise, it's 3.9194 million pounds."
Huang Hao gasped; my goodness, it's terrifying! Huang Hao then thought for a moment and asked, "Oh, right, how much did season tickets sell for last season?"
"2.44 million pounds."
Ouyang Bing was indeed a top student; she reeled off these numbers effortlessly, with almost no hesitation.
"So, if we wanted to, we could repay all our loans before the new season even begins."
Huang Hao then realized that what he had said about a year might have been too conservative.
"Not necessarily, after all, nearly ten thousand season tickets have already been sold, and the ticketing team's current estimate is around 13,500."
Huang Hao agreed with this figure; otherwise, if his newly built 14,000-seat stadium sold out only with season tickets, Cambridge United would still face a situation where tickets were hard to come by this season.
"Then, Ouyang, let's tentatively set this season's transfer budget at 8 million pounds. However, I estimate that this figure will need to increase. At that time, we'll reassess based on the club's situation."
Ouyang Bing made an OK gesture with her hand, indicating no objections.
"We still have these funds in the account; use them quickly. Otherwise, they'll just be taxed again."
The mention of taxes always gave Huang Hao a headache. The money he had earned in recent years had gone into nothing but being a good taxpayer.
"Haha, I'll definitely be quick! Oh, right, Li Jianqin should be back in a couple of days. We'll arrange a meal, my treat! We'll eat well!"
Ouyang Bing gave Huang Hao another look of disdain and turned to leave his office.
Watching Ouyang Bing's retreating figure, Huang Hao shook his head with a bitter smile.
Only Li Jianqin; he absolutely did not want such an ice beauty. Compared to Ouyang Bing, Lin Kexin was simply an angel!
After a moment of reflection, Qiao Zhuoyan began his treasure hunt in the transfer market. His first target was Feyenoord's center-back, Stefan de Vrij.
Seventeen-year-old Stefan de Vrij was the center-back Evans had strongly recommended to Huang Hao.
This young Dutch player had just been promoted to Feyenoord's first team. Standing at 189cm and weighing 80kg, he was a defender who played with his mind.
Knowing Huang Hao's fondness for young talents, Evans recommended him to Huang Hao as soon as he discovered him.
In his few appearances for the first team, De Vrij had already shown the qualities of an excellent center-back. However, Feyenoord's squad boasted seasoned players like Vlaar, Mathijsen, and Bahia, as well as youth academy talents of the same age such as Indi, Van Beek, and Kongolo, so De Vrij did not particularly stand out among them.
Therefore, after Cambridge United submitted a transfer offer worth 600,000 pounds, Adams successfully secured the opportunity to communicate with De Vrij.
On the last day of May, De Vrij finally signed a four-year contract with a weekly salary of 12,000 pounds.
After securing Stefan de Vrij, Huang Hao did not stop.
This time, Huang Hao's destination was not England, but the major French city of Lyon.
His old friend, Mr. Owens, was about to give him another gift. The portly Owens greeted Huang Hao with great enthusiasm, as if Huang Hao truly had many years of friendship with him.
Only Huang Hao knew how demanding this old friend truly was, a fact he deeply understood every time a player's contract renewal came up.
"Welcome to France, my old friend!"
Owens spread his arms wide and enthusiastically gave Huang Hao a French cheek kiss. A strong scent of perfume assailed Huang Hao, almost making him black out!
"Alright, Owens, I'm still not quite used to the French way."
"Hahahaha, my dear Huang, you'll love it here!"
Although Owens represented over 70 players, he didn't have any top European superstars.
Therefore, this fifty-something-year-old man seemed particularly down-to-earth.
And a small club like Huang Hao's was precisely one of his important clients.
"I heard you just signed De Vrij?"
After exchanging pleasantries with Huang Hao, Owens suddenly asked mysteriously.
Although this was not a secret, the summer transfer window had not yet opened, and Furloughs had not yet traveled to London.
"I have to say, Owens, your ears are even sharper than my hunting dogs at home!"
Owens didn't mind Huang Hao's joke at all; instead, he burst out laughing.
"If nothing unexpected happens, De Vrij will soon be mine as well."
The seasoned Owens smirked, saying proudly. Huang Hao rubbed his forehead helplessly, wondering what trick this old man had used to lure De Vrij.
If all his players were to be brought under this old man's wing, he would be completely at his mercy.
"My friend, are you planning to sign all my players and then take over my position?"
Hearing the implied meaning in Huang Hao's words, Owens burst into hearty laughter again.
"No, no, no, you are currently the most sought-after Head Coach in all of Europe, and I am proud that they can play under you!"
"Seriously, whenever you want a change of scenery, you can consider letting me be your agent. Who knows, we might make a splash at a big club!"
Huang Hao looked at Owens in disbelief; this guy was actually trying to scheme against him!
"Alright, alright, stop trying to scheme against me. Let's talk about today's business."
"Oh my! Look at me, my friend! I almost forgot about the important matter!"
Owens checked the time, then directly pulled Huang Hao, hailed a taxi at the hotel entrance, and headed towards their destination.
"I can guarantee you, Huang, he might just be the next Ronaldo!"
Huang Hao could only take half of Owens's words seriously; in their mouths, every player would become a European superstar.
"Then I really must thank you, so where are we going now?"
Owens didn't tell Huang Hao the destination but simply pulled him into the car.
"I have a few young players in the Lyon youth academy, and they're playing a friendly match today. You can take a good look at him."
Lyon wasn't big, and the car quickly reached its destination.
Before even getting out of the car, Huang Hao saw a group of young people engaged in an intense battle on a training ground.
The few of them clearly had formal training; they played skillfully, and occasionally, spectacular goals attracted many passersby to watch.
Huang Hao's gaze quickly fixated on a black winger.
This person was extremely fast and an excellent dribbler, twisting and turning like an eel in front of tall defenders.
Soon, this black winger dribbled past the defender, cut inside, and scored.
Owens stood by, looking proud, excitedly putting his hand to his mouth and blowing a whistle. Seeing Owens's reaction, Huang Hao knew that the person he wanted to recommend was likely this young black player.
"How about it, Huang! Alexander is pretty good, isn't he?"
Owens couldn't hide the excitement on his face.
Huang Hao nodded, but since it was just a friendly match, it was difficult to make an accurate assessment based solely on this one performance. "So, what's his current situation?"
"Free agent! Damn Lyon, their offer was too low!"
Owens said bitterly.
"Old friend, when you say that, it makes me sound like a big sucker."
Huang Hao rolled his eyes at Owens; clearly, this cunning old fox was saying it on purpose.
"Haha, no, Huang! You have to believe, you get what you pay for! Alexander is worth having!"
"OK, you can contact Adams. When the summer training camp begins, first arrange a week-long trial for your player. If there are no issues, I will sign him."
Considering that there were only four forwards in the squad, it was indeed a bit few for competing in the Premier League, and some fresh blood was definitely needed, so Huang Hao gave Owens some face.
"Is he the only candidate?" Huang Hao was a little disappointed. Although Lacazette was also a powerful forward, he was still too young at the moment.
"No, no, no, I know you like to collect young talents, so how could I only prepare one?" Owens patted Huang Hao's shoulder and pointed to the field, "Do you see numbers 15 and 18 on the field? Those are future French stars I'm very optimistic about. Number 15, Clement, is still a youth academy player, so we'll just need to pay Lyon a training fee. Number 18, Maxime, has already entered the first team but hasn't played yet, but everyone is optimistic about his future."
"When the training camp starts, all three of them will come for a two-day trial. If they're good, I'll have Adams contact you."
This trip to France was more fruitful than he had imagined. Lacazette, Grenier, and Gonalons were players whose value would double in a couple of years. He had to act early while they were still cheap. Even so, Huang Hao still calmly arranged trials for them, careful not to let Owens, that old fox, get a whiff of his intentions.
After the players reassembled, Alexander Lacazette, Clement Grenier, and Maxime Gonalons immediately reported to the team.
The three performed commendably during their trials and received approval from the coaching staff and scout evaluation team. As a result, the trio successfully joined Cambridge United, signing their names on four-year contracts and beginning their dream journey in the Premier League.
As the players reassembled, the curtain on the new Premier League season gradually opened.
And Huang Hao's Cambridge United once again led the way in the Premier League title odds at 1:1001. Huang Hao, long accustomed to this, paid no mind to it, but the relegation odds of 1:1.25 did give him a bit of a jolt.
According to Cambridge United's current squad depth, he probably needed to accelerate his recruitment efforts.
And just then, someone finally knocked on his office door.
The first player who wanted to leave Cambridge United had finally surfaced.