defensive midfielder

Tiger told Woodward that he was preparing to purchase a powerful defensive midfielder in Boulogne.

Woodward nodded: "Yes, whether it's a team or a man, the waist is very important."

"Ed, you never stray far from your job. It looks like we need to plan a trip to Amsterdam."

"I like that, hahaha."

When Tiger arrived in Boulogne, they did not go to the French Ligue 2 club Boulogne, but to a quiet apartment in a suburban area.

Woodward asked in confusion: "I thought you were going to the French Ligue 2 club Boulogne?"

Tiger shook his finger: "Ed, you are mistaken. Boulogne is no longer in Ligue 2, they fell into the National League last season."

"Oh, I feel sorry for them," Woodward said insincerely, but then furrowed his brow, "In that case, would it be cheaper to poach their players?"

"Ed, you never stray far from your job. Can we talk without mentioning money?"

"Of course not, I was born for money," Woodward said seriously, "Besides, we each have our own responsibilities - you win games for the club, and I make money for the club."

"Okay, let's cooperate tacitly."

"We must be tacit!"

"But this time our target may be more to your liking because he is currently a free agent and we don't need to spend a penny on transfer fees."

"I like that!"

As they chatted, they walked to an apartment building in the suburbs of Boulogne. It was far from the hustle and bustle of the city and very quiet, making it suitable for living. However, the various living facilities were average at best and far inferior to the villa areas where England's big stars lived.

"This place is really bad," Woodward got out of the car and followed Tiger towards the apartment.

Tiger also looked around: "It seems that my future midfield core has very average economic conditions, but it makes sense. The salary in Ligue 2 is certainly not comparable to the Premier League."

"Yes, it's even less than the salary of some players in our youth team."

As they talked and walked, they arrived at the entrance of an apartment building and stopped.

"Is it here?"

"It should be here."

Two people walked into the apartment. This five-story apartment was so shabby that it didn't even have an administrator. After wandering around for a long time, Tiger and Woodwood finally arrived at a door. After confirming it was correct, Tiger lightly knocked on the door.

After a long time, someone opened the door. A not very tall black man opened the door and looked at the two strangers in front of him. He felt strange and asked, "May I ask who you are looking for?"

"Hello, Ngolo Kanté, I'm here to find you," Tiger said in French.

Kanté was taken aback and looked at Tiger and Woodwood again. He confirmed that he did not know them, but he still politely invited them into the house and asked them to sit on the sofa. "Gentlemen, please wait a moment. I will make you a cup of coffee."

Watching Kanté turn and leave for the kitchen, Woodwood asked Tiger in surprise, "Wow, when did you learn to speak French?"

"A few days ago, I learned from a hotel waiter. And I only learned two sentences," Tiger answered honestly.

Woodwood held back his laughter and said, "I knew it. You learned a foreign language just to buy a player. You're such a dedicated coach."

The two of them chatted while Kanté brought them two cups of French green coffee and sat across from them.

Tiger politely said, "Thank you" in French.

"You're welcome," Kanté said, looking at the two of them suspiciously. "Gentlemen, judging from your appearance, you are not French, right?"

Tiger shrugged at Woodwood, "Thank you" was the second French sentence I learned. From now on, we'll have to rely on you to translate for us."

"Okay," Woodwood said helplessly, "When I go back, I'll apply to the board for an additional salary as a part-time translator."

But to be fair, Tiger's trip with Woodwood really solved a big problem. He had close contacts with many European clubs, so no matter which country or city they went to, there were almost always people to receive them. This really impressed Tiger. In addition, Woodwood had an excellent language talent. He was proficient in the mainstream languages of most European countries. If you didn't look at his appearance and only listened to him speak, it would be difficult for most people to tell which country he was from.

When Kanté heard Tiger and Woodwood speaking English, he was taken aback, "Has my house-selling information already been released in the UK?"

"Selling a house?" Woodwood laughed when he heard it, "Mr. Kanté, we are not a real estate trading company. I'm here to sign a contract with you that is higher than the price of a house."

"What's going on?" Kanté became more and more confused as he listened, even becoming suspicious that the two people in front of him were frauds.

Tiger listened to their conversation, looking bewildered: "Ed, what nonsense are you talking about? Get to the point."

At this point, Woodward regained his seriousness and explained to Kanté the identities and intentions of the two men.

Kanté was suddenly shocked! He had never expected that the Chinese-looking Englishman in front of him was actually the new manager of Manchester United? And he even wanted to sign Kanté?

At this point, Woodward stepped back and completely handed over the initiative of communication to Tiger, while he dutifully translated into French. Tiger smiled and said, "Mr. Kanté, to show my sincerity, I learned two phrases in French, one to say your name, and the other to say thank you. Besides that, I don't know any other French."

Kanté was amused by Tiger's words, "Mr. Tiger, football is the best language of mankind, so we have no barriers to communication, right?"

Tiger slapped his palm, "Well said! With your emotional intelligence, you'll definitely be the core of Manchester United's midfield in the future."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Tiger nodded, "Mr. Kanté, I have just taken over as the manager of Manchester United not long ago, and what I need most now is a piece of midfield puzzle. I have been watching you for a long time. You are one of the few interception masters in today's football world. Come to me, I will let your talent shine to the fullest, win many championships... and sign a contract that exceeds the price of your house."

In fact, Woodward added the last sentence when he was translating. He was more practical than Tiger, the idealist, so he felt that this sentence could be a weight for Kanté to sign the contract.