33 Long-term Goal

In the 60th minute, Kazuki came off the field, he was replaced by Osmund. George hugged Kazuki while saying, "Good job, kid."

"Thank you, coach," Kazuki replied. He had a high five with Osmund then went to the bench.

Beside him, Wright-Phillips was sitting, he looked at Kazuki, and let out a complaint, "I'm so envious, why did the coach give you a chance but leave me dusty on the bench?"

Kazuki rolled his eyes and replied, "Well, you're not good enough to replace Rudolf."

Wright-Phillips sighed in annoyance, added, "It can't be helped, Rudolf and the Captain have become coach George Eastgate's mainstay duo."

"If you know the answer, then practice harder," Kazuki suggested.

After losing Kazuki and Hugo, West Bromwich Albion controlled the game. Southampton, who replaced their two main attackers, struggled to overcome the West Bromwich Albion defense. In midfield, although West Bromwich Albion played with 10-men they bravely played possession.

Rudolf and Simone were exhausted after continuously running during this match. On the other hand, the combination of Thorne and Rosenberg was strong enough to maintain possession. West Brom's formation is 4-4-1, Odemmiwe and Dorrans dropping into midfield to help with possession. However, this also caused Shane Long to be isolated on the frontcourt.

Despite having the ball, West Bromwich also had difficulty breaking down Southampton's defense. However, they lack people. The match continued until the second half whistle sounded. No additional goals were created.

"Congratulations to Southampton, they finally managed to win the game after experiencing a bad trend in the last few games. The final result was West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Southampton. West Bromwich Albion must accept a slight defeat to their guests The Saints."

***

After the game was over, George and West Bromwich Albion coach, Bruce came to the press conference room.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate Southampton on winning this match. Then I would like to ask Mr. Bruce a question, What do you think about this defeat, Mr. Bruce?" Reporters from The Guardian started a press conference.

"In this game, we did lose but overall we played optimally. Admittedly, Southampton is a formidable opponent, we have difficulty building up attacks. On the other hand, we have been managed to limit Southampton's attack, the difference is some Southampton players did a great job, this afternoon," Joshua Bruce explained in his opinion.

"Do you think Southampton is a strong team? Even if they are in the relegation zone?" The Independent reporter asked Bruce a question.

George interrupted and said, "We're going out of the relegation zone, watch your word."

"I'm sorry, but the fact is Southampton are still in the relegation zone," replied The Independent reporter casually.

Bruce replied, "Yes, they are strong. At least in this match, they played well."

"What do you think of young player number 28, Kazuki Kazeshima, Mr. Bruce?" asked The Sun.

"He's a player with great potential. I think if Southampton were relegated West Brom would be happy to buy him."

George interrupted again, "We will not be relegated and we will not sell Kazuki."

Bruce shrugged his shoulders in response to George's words.

"Well, Mr. George, what do you think of this victory?" asked Southampton Daily.

George heaved a sigh of relief, finally, it was his turn, his heart sickened by The Independent's rude questions and Bruce's answers.

"We played well in this game. Even though Hunt missed a penalty but we managed to score a goal. We worked hard in the first half until we took the lead at the end of the first half. In the second half, we conceded a goal but luckily, we make a goal."

The Southampton vs West Bromwich Albion post-match press conference event continued with some minor questions, before finally ending. The Southampton bus left the Hawthorne stadium with the players and staff.

***

Kazuki sat on the sofa in the living room. Beside him, there was Furochi who was visiting him. Furochi came here to take care of Kazuki's contract renewal with Southampton.

After seeing Kazuki's potential, Southampton quickly called Furochi to renew the contract. Renewing the contract is not just about raising the salary, more importantly, the release clause. Kazuki's previous contract release clause was only 5 million euros.

Now Southampton raise it to 28 million euros. Initially, Southampton wanted to increase it to 50 million euros. But Furochi felt that the value was too high.

After negotiating Southampton was finally willing to lower their egos, Kazuki's contract clause was changed to 28 million euros. On the condition, Kazuki would not be transferred in the next summer transfer window.

Kazuki agreed with that, however, he felt that next season, his position as the main player would be more stable. As a young player, it was important for Kazuki to continue to experience the match, not warm up the bench.

"Japanese media has started reporting again. You're getting famous Kazuki, from now on you have to create social media accounts as a means of interacting with fans," said Furochi.

Kazuki replied, "I don't have time to take care of those accounts."

Furochi explained, "I'll find you a personal assistant. Let this assistant help you take care of other small things. That way, he can capture every good moment and upload photos and short videos every day."

Kazuki sighed then said, "Troublesome."

"This is very important you know, the more famous you are, the more ads will come to you, the more ads you make, the more money I get."

"In the end, it's all about money."

Furochi didn't deny, instead, he replied, "Of course, what do you think I've been helping you all this time? A rich person like you wouldn't know how hard it is to make money."

"Whatever." Kazuki turned his gaze to the television. The television broadcast the UCL match between Liverpool and Juventus in the round of 16 first leg.

Kazuki's gaze couldn't escape from figure number 10 in a black and white shirt. The man took the ball passed Liverpool defenders and then shoot the ball hard.

"Gooaaall! Mattheo Rodrigues scored again! The performance of the winner of the balloon d'or 3 times in a row was amazing! He was like a fairy on the ground. With that goal, Juventus beat Liverpool 2-0."

Mattheo Rodrigues, a player from Argentina, the successor of Zaradona, the alien who has broken many football records. He has been the best player in a row from 2009, 2010, 2011. This season, he also has a chance to win the best player title for the fourth time in a row.

"One day, I will beat you," Kazuki whispered. Right now he was too far away from the European stage but Kazuki was sure with the help of [Dream Training] he would play in the champions league sooner or later.

For Kazuki, defeating Mattheo was a long-term goal.