I build a giant in the Premier League

Chapter 283 Faith collapsed! The best horse finally met his master! He will make the entire Serie A tremble! [Subscribe]

Since Yang Cheng personally arrived in Italy, the negotiations have been fully accelerated.

The Bergamo municipal government also responded quickly.

It only took them 2 days.

Even before Yang Cheng, Xia Qing, Adam Crozier and others had explored the area around Lake Iseo, they had already received news from Antonio Percassi.

Then came the call from Bergamo Mayor Franco Tentorio.

The city of Bergamo agreed in principle to sell the municipal stadium, but there was one requirement: the owner must be Atalanta.

In other words, Yang Cheng can only buy the stadium in the name of Atlanta Club.

This is actually a kind of constraint for them, tying Atlanta and the municipal stadium together.

Of course Yang Cheng has no problem with that.

So, the two sides immediately started their second meeting.

This time, we are here to discuss the acquisition of the municipal stadium.

The final result of the negotiations was that this stadium, which was built in 1928 and was already dilapidated, was sold for 800 million euros.

This is 2017 euros more than the 780 million euros that Atalanta paid to buy the Municipal Stadium in 20 in Yang Cheng's previous life.

But this is nothing to Yang Cheng now.

Just consider it as a round number!

The most important thing now is that Atlanta can buy the stadium and renovate it.

But there is a problem: the exterior buildings on both sides of the stadium are historically protected buildings, so they cannot be demolished or modified.

To the north of the stadium are residential houses and factories, to the east is a road, and to the west is the municipal sports center.

Bergamo's third district town hall is also located in this sports center.

There is only a 6-square-meter parking lot on the south side of the stadium, but it is not big and can only be converted into commercial space.

In fact, Xia Qing and Adam Crozier had already found a third party to conduct research.

This stadium has a long history, and the structure and design of the stands are unreasonable.

Now, instead of spending a lot of effort on renovation, it might be more cost-effective to simply tear it down and rebuild it.

But the problem is that the buildings on the east and west sides are protected and cannot be changed or moved.

Therefore, the best way is to transform it.

Of course, it is called renovation, but in fact, except for two buildings that cannot be demolished, all others have to be demolished.

There is a running track between the perimeter of the stadium and the middle of the stands.

So we planned to dig one level lower, expand the stands, and transform it into a professional football field.

The two protected buildings will not be idle either. The street-side shops will be rented out, and the top floor will be renovated into a VIP box.

According to the calculations and planning designs of a third-party agency, the stadium is expected to have 50 VIP boxes by then, and the home stadium capacity will not be the 2.5 that Yang Cheng reported to the municipal government, but will reach 3.

As for whether the 3 people can be accommodated by then, it depends on the operational capabilities of the new team.

The parking lot in the southern area of ​​the stadium will be moved underground and the ground will be transformed into a public square, which will greatly expand the commercial space inside the stadium.

Yang Cheng and his team also conducted research on this early on.

After comprehensive consideration, they still felt that it was a good deal to buy the stadium and invest 1 million euros in its renovation.

There is another benefit to renovating the stadium.

Considering the current low attendance at Atlanta’s home games, Yang Cheng and others felt that there was no need to rent a stadium from outside, but rather to directly demolish and renovate it in stages.

For example, the north end stands were demolished first, followed by the south side.

This can save a lot of money.

Yang Cheng didn't say all his words, and the Bergamo City Government didn't take it seriously.

After all, which investor would unconditionally and blindly follow the city government's requirements?
When the time comes, the planning and design will be submitted for approval.

But one thing is written into the contract: the 2 million euro investment over two years must be fulfilled!
……

Following an announcement from the Bergamo City Government, a strong earthquake immediately occurred throughout Italy.

Everyone realized that the acquisition that had been rumored for more than half a year had finally come to fruition!
The announcement only revealed that the city government intends to sell the municipal stadium to Atlanta Club for 800 million euros.

Although nothing specific was said, everyone knows that if Atlanta had not been acquired, where would the money come from to purchase this stadium?
Not to mention, the announcement also revealed that the reason for the sale was that the Atalanta club would invest 2 million euros to renovate the stadium in the next two years.

The whole of Italy was in uproar again.

Although the official wording was very rigorous and no further information was revealed, media reporters and fans all knew that it was Yang Cheng and his Bayswater Chinese who acquired Atlanta.

Due to Nice's success, many people agreed with the acquisition.

I hope Yang Cheng and his team can lead Atlanta out of the quagmire.

What's more, both sides are known for their emphasis on youth training.

But there are also many fans who oppose this acquisition.

There are also various rumors circulating in the market.

For example, some people say that after being acquired by Yang Cheng, Atlanta's blue and black jerseys will be changed into the red jerseys of Bayswater Chinese.

Some people also said that Yang Cheng valued Atlanta's youth training and it was impossible for him to invest in the transfer market.

Some fans even said that unless Yang Cheng came to coach in person, they would not accept such an acquisition.

Finally, some extreme fans ran to the entrance of the Municipal Stadium and burned the Nerazzurri's jerseys.

Faith collapsed!
Some fans also went to the entrance of the Zignia training base to march and demonstrate.

Atlanta's club office is in Zignia.

The reason for the fans' demonstration was that Atlanta was holding a board meeting that day to discuss the subsequent share transfer.

At 16:53, after the board meeting ended, Antonio Percassi, accompanied by his son Luca, was driving a Bentley out of Zignia when he was blocked by Atlanta fans waiting outside.

Angry fans asked him why he betrayed Atlanta?

There was even chaos at one point.

Antonio Perkasi had to get out of his car and talk to angry fans on the spot.

Perkasi said selling Atlanta was a sad decision.

"But we have to do it because we don't see any hope of getting any better if we continue!"

Antonio Percassi is pessimistic about Serie A and Atalanta's prospects.

"This past season, we were very close to being relegated to the second division, which is something none of us wanted to see."

"We don't have the money to bring in good players, and we're even still in arrears with some of the players' salaries."

“We have to find a way to solve the problem.”

Antonio Percasi said he asked many businesses and wealthy people in Bergamo province, but everyone stayed away from football.

"We will still go to the stadium to watch every game, but we are fully aware that Atlanta needs to make more changes. This is an opportunity we must seize."

Perkasi revealed that he had played for Atlanta in the 60s and he had a very deep affection for Atlanta.

"Behind us is the Zignia training ground that I built when I first became president of the club in the early 90s, and the youth system that we are so proud of.

Perkasi recounted his contributions to Atlanta and his deep affection for the club in order to resonate with the fans at the scene.

"I hope that through this cooperation, the club will have better room for development."

“This is a huge challenge!”

"But I believe that working with these world-renowned football teams can effectively promote the growth of Atlanta!"

Antonio Percasi also revealed that although he decided to sell his shares in the club, he will still continue to hold a position in the club, but he did not disclose what specific position it is.

"What I can guarantee is that many rumors outside are false."

"Our jerseys will still be blue and black, and we will continue to adhere to the development route that focuses on youth training."

"But on this basis, we must become more international. We must strive to become a football club with international influence in Serie A. This is the general trend of the future!"

Some fans were convinced by Perkasi's remarks, but some were not.

The general reaction of media reporters to this is to wait and see, or be cautiously optimistic.

The Bayswater Chinese are just too powerful.

Yang Cheng and his team spent three years building a strong Nice team.

Everyone is also full of expectations, can he continue this glory in Atlanta?
If this can really be done, then being acquired doesn't seem like a bad thing.

……

The situation has become very delicate due to the protests at the Zigenia training base.

Therefore, Yang Cheng and Antonio Percassi decided to arrange the acquisition negotiation meeting in Tergate near Lake Iseo.

That was where they had eaten last time.

This place is several kilometers away from the city of Bergamo, and the media and fans basically won't find their way here.

In addition to the Perkasi father and son, those who attended the negotiation included their hired accountant Mario Volpi and representative lawyers.

Alessandro and Francesca Ruggeri, siblings from the Ruggeri family, and their lawyers also attended the meeting.

The Ruggeri family now also owns 24% of Atlanta.

The negotiations are going very smoothly.

Or rather, there's nothing to talk about.

The two sides had been in contact for more than half a year.

If the stadium project had not yet failed to gain the approval of the city government, the deal would have been completed long ago.

Now that the city government has given the green light, the transaction can move forward immediately.

Yang Cheng will acquire 3000% of Atlanta's shares for a total price of 100 million euros.

That is to say, all the shares of the Perkasi and Ruggeri families were taken over.

This is already a very good purchase price.

When Percassi acquired Atlanta in 2010, the club was valued at just 1800 million euros.

Of course, at that time, Atalanta fell into Serie B, and now it has successfully avoided relegation in Serie A.

Therefore, the 3000 million euros offered by Yang Cheng is actually quite good.

As a concession, Percasi suspended negotiations for Dennis' transfer to Inter Milan.

Inter Milan's offer reached 550 million euros.

But the deal to sell Peruso to Juventus has already taken effect, with a transfer fee of 500 million euros.

Yang Cheng didn't care about it.

Not only that, he also said that after completing the acquisition procedures, Atalanta will continue to promote Dennis' transfer to Inter Milan.

There are two other valuable players in the team, and both are from the team's youth training camp.

One is the 26-year-old goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, whose current market value is estimated at 800 million euros.

The other is 23-year-old midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura, who has just been selected for the Italian national team.

Both players have received youth training in Atlanta since childhood and their strength is extraordinary.

This is also the reason why Yang Cheng is very optimistic about Atlanta.

The club's youth training is well-known in Italy and has been training players.

There is no need to mention Bonaventura. Next is Alessandro Bastoni, the national team central defender who later played for Inter Milan. He is also from Atalanta and should be in the echelon now.

The contract negotiations went smoothly.

Mainly, there is no problem with the price.

And both the Perkasi and the Ruggeri families made a request.

Although they sold the club, they still hope to maintain a close working relationship between the family and the club.

Of course, Yang Cheng was also happy to see this happen.

Therefore, it was proposed to invite Antonio Percassi to serve as the club's honorary chairman and Francesca Ruggeri to continue to serve as the club's honorary director.

The two will serve as a link between Yang Cheng's team and local Italy.

Although the two major families sold Atlanta in exchange for a large sum of money, they can still continue to play the Atlanta football card, which can be said to be a win-win situation.

……

After the two parties reached an agreement, they officially held a press conference.

Accompanied by Antonio Percassi and his son, and Francesca Ruggeri and her sister, Atlanta's new management team officially debuted and announced a series of major initiatives of the club.

After the acquisition is completed, Atlanta will ensure the stability of the club's management and operations to the greatest extent possible.

Atlanta's new chairman of the board is an Englishman named Tom Wheatley.

Tom Wheatley, 38, graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science. After graduation, he worked in the City of London. He joined Bayswater Chinese in 2006, first working in the business department, and officially became Adam Crozier's deputy three years ago.

Now, he has been appointed by Yang Cheng as the chairman of the Atlanta Club.

The reason why Tom Wheatley was chosen, in addition to his personal ability, was because he was fluent in Italian.

Yang Cheng formally authorized Tom Whitley to be responsible for operations in Atlanta.

At the press conference, Tom Whitley, on behalf of the investors behind the team, officially spoke to all Atlanta fans. He said that the team will invest 1 million euros to renovate the stadium.

"We have reason to believe that the stadium renovation will be a good thing for all fans and will greatly enhance the stadium's viewing experience."

The preliminary renovation plan had already been shown to the city government, and Tom Wheatley also demonstrated it again on site.

After the press conference, a press release will be sent to major media outlets.

In addition to the parachuted-in chairman of the board, the head of marketing is also a Chinese from Bayswater.

To put it simply, Bayswater Chinese will take over the two major areas of Atlanta's operations and marketing.

Atlanta's current CEO is an incredible, awesome guy.

It's called Pierpaolo Marino.

People who are familiar with Italy must be familiar with this bespectacled Italian bald man, because he has worked in Naples twice, the first time was in the mid-80s, which was the Maradona period.

Marino was only in his early 30s at the time.

He later worked as a consultant at Roma, then as president at Avellino, and then as sporting director at Pescara.

He started working at Udinese in 1999 and spent five years building Udinese's scout network and black shop model, which were praised by the whole world and were a great success.

In September 04, he was poached by De Laurentiis, who had acquired Napoli at the time, and returned to Napoli. He spent several years bringing the club to Serie A and making it a powerful force in Serie A.

In 2009, he resigned from Naples due to ideological conflicts with De Laurentiis.

In the summer of 2011, he officially joined Atlanta, first as technical director, and then in 2012 he was officially promoted to CEO of the club, taking full charge of Atlanta's work.

Marino, who is only 59 years old, already has 30 years of experience working in Italian football and there is basically no problem with his abilities.

During the past period of time, Yang Cheng's team had many contacts with Marino during the acquisition of Atlanta.

The two sides hit it off on many ideas and concepts, and the other side also strongly supported Yang Cheng's team's transformation of Atlanta.

So, Yang Cheng decided to continue to employ Marino.

At the press conference, Marino also promised all fans on behalf of the new management team that Atalanta will continue to adhere to its current development path and will continue to bring more exciting football to Italian fans.

At the same time, Marino also officially announced that head coach Gasperini will officially sign a coaching contract with the club.

After taking over midway through last season, Gasperini's coaching has received a certain degree of recognition.

Moreover, this head coach has coached Inter Milan and is also well-known in Italian football.

More importantly, he was strongly recommended by Yang Cheng.

Previously, he signed a short-term coaching contract of a few months with Atlanta, commonly known as a fire-fighting contract.

Now, officially signed long-term coaching.

In addition to Marino's retention, the club's sporting director Gabriel Zamagna will also remain in office.

But the club will poach Giovanni Sartori from Verona to serve as Atalanta's technical director, who will be fully responsible for youth training matters.

Giovanni Sartori started working at Verona in 92, mainly responsible for youth training, and his results were remarkable.

Over the past few years, Verona's youth training level has improved significantly and has won wide acclaim in the industry.

Yang Cheng has known him for a long time, and he is also familiar with Gasperini, Marino and Sartori, so the reason he recruited him this time is to increase investment in youth training.

Accompanying Sartori was Verona's youth training director Maurizio Costanzi.

After Costanzi comes, he will serve as the director of Atlanta's youth training academy, mainly cooperating with Sartori's youth training work.

The former youth training director Mino Favini was promoted to director of the youth training camp.

This 77-year-old Italian man has worked in Atlanta's youth training camp for 22 years. He has made great contributions to the development and growth of Atlanta's youth training academy over the past few years.

Now, he has started to work behind the scenes and is preparing to retire.

Among the many appointments, there was one decision that received little attention.

That is the former Atlanta international scouting director, 27-year-old Spaniard Pablo Longoria, who officially took over as Atlanta's scouting director.

This person is also a great man, but he is still unknown now.

In Yang Cheng's previous life, Pablo Granlia jumped from Atalanta to Serie A newly promoted Sassuolo in 2013 and became the director of scouts.

After working in Sassuolo for two years with outstanding results, he was favored by Juventus, so he went to the Zebras and took charge of Juventus' scouting team.

In February 2018, he was recruited by Valencia for a large sum of money to serve as the sports director of the Bats.

But he only worked in Valencia until February 2019, and then moved to Marseille in Ligue 2.

At that time, Marseille had been acquired by foreign capital and was making drastic changes to prepare for a big move.

Longoria first served as managing director of Marseille and then as chairman of Marseille.

When Yang Cheng traveled through time, Longoria was doing quite well in Marseille.

Therefore, after Yang Cheng acquired Atlanta this time, he would certainly not let such talents go.

Longoria was directly promoted to director of scouting, taking full responsibility for the work of the scouting department.

Especially after an in-depth communication, Pablo Longoria was very grateful for Yang Cheng's trust, and he felt like a talented horse had finally met its master.

Whether within Atalanta or within Italian football, after Yang Cheng acquired Atalanta, he made a number of appointments and promotions in one go, which can be described as bold and courageous.

This made everyone feel the change in style of the Bayswater Chinese team, led by Yang Cheng, after entering Atlanta. …

"Now, the entire Italian football circle is discussing what you did in Atlanta in the past few days."

"Decisive and sharp!"

When Yang Cheng met Gasperini again in a hotel on the shores of Lake Iseo, the old man laughed and recounted the comments of the Italian professional circles on Yang Cheng's actions.

"We have been preparing for this day for a year and planning it for more than half a year. What do you think?" Yang Cheng replied with a smile.

Since deciding to acquire a club a year ago, Yang Cheng and his team have been preparing.

"But the movement is indeed huge. From the management system to the organizational structure, everything has changed!" Gasperini exclaimed.

This is to fully benchmark Bayswater Chinese and Nice.

"I spent a total of 4000 million euros to buy Atalanta, and I have to invest another 1 million euros, so I must fight this battle well, otherwise my money will be wasted."

After making a joke, Yang Cheng began to bring the topic to the purpose of inviting Gasperini over.

That's what Atalanta is looking for this summer.

"Recently, I watched a lot of Atalanta's games last season, some of which you coached and some of which were before that. To be honest, the overall strength of this team is quite average. It has no competitiveness in Serie A, and the style of play needs to change."

"As you said, playing that kind of lifeless football is not popular with young fans at all."

The situation in Serie A is pretty bad right now.

If I say it out loud, probably no one will believe it.

Atlanta's Blue Arena has a capacity of 24726 and the average attendance last season was 15088 fans.

The attendance rate was 61%.

When everyone sees this data, their first reaction must be: Damn, why is it so bad?
Hey, don’t rush to criticize!
Whether it is bad or not depends on its peers.

This attendance rate ranked third in Serie A last season.

Yes, you read that right, ranked 3rd.

Juventus ranked first with 85%, followed by Sampdoria with 64%.

Inter Milan ranked 57th with 7%, and AC Milan ranked 54th with 9%.

At the bottom of the ranking is Chievo, with only 24%.

In addition, Lazio has 39% and Roma has 48%.

Of course, just looking at the attendance rate is not objective enough, because the capacity of stadiums varies.

In terms of attendance, since the Meazza/San Siro stadiums have more than 8 people, although the attendance of the two Milan clubs is not high, the average number of fans per game is as high as more than 4, which is the highest in Serie A.

Next is Naples, with nearly 4 people.

Next up are Roma, Juventus and Lazio.

Atalanta's 1 people rank roughly 5th in Serie A.

This can actually objectively reflect the current common problems in Serie A.

The home attendance is terrible!
If you look closely at the attendance rankings in Serie A, it is easy to see that Juventus' attendance is far ahead of the rest.

This is mainly because the Zebras' stadium facilities are new.

The new stadium can not only provide fans with a better viewing experience and more commercial services, but also help create a home fan atmosphere, which is something that old stadiums do not have.

To put it bluntly, you have to be exposed to the sun during the day, blown by the wind at night, caught in the rain on rainy days, and it's even worse on windy and snowy days.

Who would want to come for this kind of football-watching experience?
It’s better to stay at home and watch live TV!

Another point is that the Serie A teams all play very ugly.

All of them are known for their strict defense and are known as reinforced concrete.

Damn, it’s such a young age now, who still watches this?

Especially now, ticket consumption is generally dominated by young people and middle-aged families.

In the era of globalization and informatization, fast pace is king. Who would watch your slow defensive counterattack?

Therefore, Yang Cheng’s opinion is that the game must be played beautifully, there must be many shots, and the game must be smooth.

These are what Gasperini is good at!
"Antonio Percasi, the old fox, was originally planning to sell Dennis to Inter Milan."

When Yang Cheng said this, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

As soon as the money from Peruso's sale to Juventus arrived, it was transferred from the club's account by the Percassi family under various names.

"But this time I called off Dennis' transfer, but I still plan to sell him."

Gasperini nodded continuously. He knew that Yang Cheng must have something else to say.

The two have known each other for such a long time, and he thought he knew Yang Cheng to some extent.

"There is also goalkeeper Andrea Consigli, who has been linked with AC Milan, and I am also planning to let him go."

"But don't worry, Bonaventura, I will do my best to stay!"

Both Consigli and Bonaventura are local youth players and are direct descendants of Atalanta.

Both players were also poached by AC Milan.

But Yang Cheng only planned to sell Kong Xili.

Bonaventura will definitely try his best to stay. He is an active international player who has just been selected for the national team and is very popular.

"I won't hide it from you. After buying the club and the stadium, I don't have a lot of money on hand, so I plan to sell these two players in exchange for funds for transfer operations."

"AC Milan is in urgent need of a goalkeeper. Abbiati is already 36 years old, and the performances of backup goalkeepers such as Gabriel are average. The Rossoneri are very interested in Consigli and should be able to sell him for a high price."

Consigli's current market value is 800 million euros, which is also Yang Cheng's psychological price.

In today's Serie A, if you want to sell for a high price, especially for the goalkeeper position, basically forget it.

Every Serie A team is about to dig through the ground.

Gasperini thought for a moment and replied: "I personally don't have any opinion, but you have to know that Dennis scored 15 goals and assisted 5 times in Serie A last season. He was the team's top scorer and top assists king."

"If we lose him, what will happen to our offense this season?"

Atlanta last season basically revolved around two players.

One is the Argentine forward Denis, now a 31-year-old veteran.

One is Bonaventura, who scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists last season, second only to Dennis.

"Look at this."

Yang Cheng picked up a document from the table in front of him and handed it to Gasperini.

"Luca Toni?"

As soon as Gasperini opened it, he saw this familiar name.

This document comes from the evaluation report of Luca Toni by the technical team of Bayswater Chinese.

This top center forward, who was once famous in European football, was first loaned to Roma after losing his starting position in Bayern Munich, and then moved to Genoa on a free transfer in the summer of 2010.

After playing for Genoa for half a year, he moved to Juventus on a free transfer during the winter break.

After playing for the Zebras for one year, he moved to Al Nasr Club in the United Arab Emirates in January 1.

Half a year later, he returned to Serie A and joined Fiorentina.

In this report, Bayswater Chinese technical team analyses Luca Toni.

Even though he is 36 years old now, his overall performance is still very good.

For example, during the winter break of the 09/10 season, after being loaned to Roma from Bayern, he made 15 appearances, scored 5 goals and provided 1 assist.

If you only look at this data, you will definitely think it is very average.

But his actual playing time was only 931 minutes.

In addition, just after he joined Roma and started to get into the game and scored twice, he was absent for more than a month due to a torn thigh muscle fiber.

In the half season when he transferred to Genoa on a free transfer, he played all 16 games except the first two rounds, scoring 3 goals and making 3 assists. His performance was not good, but not too bad either.

But then he joined Juventus and was absent for more than half a month due to knee problems, after which he completely became a substitute.

So, in the first half year of playing for Juventus, he scored 2 goals and had 1 assist, which was an average performance.

In the 11/12 season, Luca Toni was completely reduced to a substitute and did not even have playing time, so he went directly to the UAE to make money during the winter break, and his performance was quite good.

Scored 8 goals and 3 assists in 2 games.

Last season, after returning to Serie A from the Middle East, he played for Fiorentina and made 27 appearances, but in reality, he only played 1321 minutes.

In other words, he was a substitute most of the time.

Luca Toni scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists.

Judging from the goal distribution and playing time, as long as he is a starter, he either scores a goal or assists.

"Do you want the 36-year-old Luca Toni to be the main center forward?" Gasperini frowned.

Yang Cheng also understood the concerns of the old man.

Even if we look at the statistics, Luca Toni's performance is good, but his age is there after all.

At this age, the condition is completely different every year, and injuries have a huge impact.

But Yang Cheng naturally wouldn't tell him that this was Luca Toni!

In the next two years, this old monster will score more than 20 goals in every season of Serie A.

If he remembered correctly, in the 2013/14 Serie A season, Luca Toni scored 20 goals and 11 assists for Verona.

The guy who activated Luca Toni is called Juan Iturbe, a dual citizen of Argentina and Paraguay, who is currently frustrated in Porto.

Thanks to his outstanding performance in Verona, Iturbe's value suddenly jumped from 2000 to 2014 million euros to 2500 million euros, and he transferred to Roma for million euros in .

In just one year, it increased nearly tenfold.

It is conceivable how well Iturbe performed in Verona.

"Don't worry. I won't just give you Luca Toni. I will also equip you with a young center. Let him train with Luca Toni for two or three years, and then he will take over smoothly in the future." Yang Cheng said with full confidence.

Gasperini still recognizes Yang Cheng's vision.

"Do you think Luca Toni can replace Dennis?"

Yang Cheng nodded, "The tactics need to be adjusted appropriately. You need to adopt a high-pressure pressing tactic, with the focus on going to the two wing lanes to bring out Luca Toni's offensive advantage. I guarantee that this veteran will make the entire Serie A tremble!"

Serie A has always had a problem, which is the lack of wingers.

Once an outstanding winger emerges, he will be poached immediately.

Moreover, the football style of Serie A itself is not very suitable for training wing players.

But for players like Iturbe, Yang Cheng has already started talks with Porto.

"I can give you a guarantee now."

Yang Cheng looked at Gasperini with full confidence and said, "In the new season, whether you want to play with three defenders or four defenders, there will be no problem. I will give you enough players."

"I only have one requirement, that the game style must be good, the offense must be proactive, and the team's performance must improve."

Gasperini's eyes lit up when he heard this. "There will be no problem on my side. As long as the team you build is strong, I will definitely help you bring them out."

"Of course, I also need the cooperation of all departments of the team."

"You can rest assured about this." Yang Cheng laughed.

He had already talked to Whitley and Marino, among others.

At this point, Yang Cheng smiled and stretched out his hand, "Then I'll be here to wish you lead this new Atalanta to great success in Serie A!"

Gasperini also smiled and reached out his hand, shaking Yang Cheng's hand tightly.

From his eyes, Yang Cheng felt a strong desire.

That is the desire for success, victory, and recognition from the outside world!

……

Atlanta was acquired by a Chinese consortium!
The news spread all over the world in an instant.

But what followed were all kinds of doubts and concerns, especially protests from Atlanta's die-hard fans.

In response, the new Atlanta team adopted various measures such as cold treatment and appeasement.

But as the transfer market slowly opens, Atalanta fans' concerns are growing.

First of all, last season's top scorer, 31-year-old Argentine striker Denis, was sold to the top team Inter Milan by the club for a transfer fee of 550 million euros.

After selling Peruso, Denis was sold again. So who will score goals in the new Serie A season?
At the same time, AC Milan also announced that it had bought local goalkeeper Consigli from Atalanta for a transfer fee of 800 million euros.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper was once shortlisted for the Italian national team's training camp, but was ultimately not selected or played.

After selling two players in succession, Atalanta announced that it had signed former Italian international Luca Toni, who had just ended his contract with Fiorentina, on a free transfer.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Atalanta's most powerful weapon to convince Luca Toni to join is to offer the 36-year-old veteran a two-year professional contract that can be automatically renewed for one year.

For Luca Toni, who is already 36 years old, this is an invitation that he cannot refuse.

Although the annual salary offered by Atalanta was only 100 million euros, which was lower than Luca Toni's expectations, the Italian center still signed with Atalanta.

But almost everyone is pessimistic about the deal.

Because Luca Toni's performance in the past few years has been very unsatisfactory, it has been intermittent and he has not performed well.

More importantly, at 36 years old, it’s hard to believe he can succeed in Atlanta.

Including Gazzetta dello Sport, some believe that this is more like a way for the new Atalanta team to please local fans.

Introducing a former national team center forward to appease local fans.

At the same time, Atalanta announced that it had signed winger Iturbe from Portuguese Super League Porto for a transfer fee of 350 million euros.

The 20-year-old Paraguayan international joined Porto from Cerro Porteno of the Paraguayan First Division for 2011 million euros in the summer of 425.

But in the Portuguese Super League, Iturbe never got the opportunity to perform, so in January 2013, he was loaned back to River Plate.

In Argentina, Iturbe made 17 appearances and scored 9 goals, performing very well.

However, in Porto, which is full of talented players, Iturbe still finds it difficult to get opportunities.

Atalanta's move at this time undoubtedly fits Porto's intentions.

The Portuguese Super League team originally wanted to send Iturbe away by renting first and then buying, but Atalanta was more willing to buy him out in one go.

This was also instructed by Yang Cheng.

Because in his previous life, Iturbe was loaned to Verona for 100 million euros and performed very well.

A year later, Iturbe's value soared and Verona finally signed him with a buyout clause of 1500 million euros.

After the signing, Verona sold him to Roma for 2500 million euros, making a profit of 1000 million euros.

But now, Yang Cheng is unwilling to let Porto make another profit.

After Porto signed Iturbe, they found that there was no place for Iturbe in the team and the player's performance in the Portuguese Super League was not satisfactory. In this case, it was natural to sell him at a discount.

The price Atalanta quoted is the current transfer market valuation of Iturbe.

After signing Luca Toni and Juan Iturbe in succession, Atalanta then signed Romulo, a versatile player with Brazilian and Italian dual citizenship, from Fiorentina for 200 million euros.

The 26-year-old Brazilian midfielder is only 1 meters tall, but can play in all positions in midfield and on the right.

Afterwards, Atalanta signed 360-year-old local central defender Francesco Acerbi from Genoa for a total price of 25 million euros.

Of the 360 million euros, half was paid to Genoa and the other half was paid to AC Milan.

The latter part will be deducted directly from Consigli's transfer fee.

Because this player is jointly owned by Genoa and AC Milan, but plays for Genoa.

At the same time, Atalanta signed 60-year-old central defender Milan Skriniar from Zilina, Slovakia for a transfer fee of 18 euros.

Signed Spanish defender Marcos Alonso from Championship side Bolton on a free transfer.

Afterwards, Atalanta signed 250-year-old central defender Antonio Rudiger from Bundesliga Stuttgart for 20 million euros.

In the second half of last season, Rudiger established himself in Stuttgart's first team, but his playing time and position were not very stable.

In the new season, Stuttgart had many internal conflicts and Rudiger did not have enough confidence in his future. It happened that Atlanta, which had the support of the Chinese in Bayswater, extended an olive branch and promised to give him a starting position.

The two sides hit it off and Stuttgart received a transfer fee of 250 million euros.

In addition to Rudiger, Atalanta also brought in Polish center Milik from another Bundesliga team, Leverkusen.

Milik, who is only 19 years old, has been playing in the Polish domestic league. He has performed well and has been selected for the Polish national team as Lewandowski's partner.

In January 2013, Milik transferred from Shakhtar Zabrze to Leverkusen for €1 million.

But in the talented Bayer Leverkusen team, Milik failed to prove himself despite several appearances in the first team, and mostly played for the second team.

According to the original plan of the pharmaceutical company, they were going to loan Milik out. After all, he is still young and they are quite optimistic about Milik's potential.

But at this time, Atalanta offered to sell the player and offered a transfer fee of 250 million euros, which successfully convinced the Bayer Leverkusen.

In addition, Atalanta also signed goalkeeper Alisson Becker from Brazil's Internacional for 30 euros.

After completing several transfers in succession, Atalanta soon announced that it had signed Argentine midfielder Lucas Biglia from Anderlecht in Belgium for a transfer fee of 800 million euros.

Signed winger Felipe Anderson from Santos of Brazil for €700 million.

The two transfers totaled 1500 million euros.

Including several previous transactions, Atalanta spent a total of 3000 million euros in the transfer market.

Although the sale of Consigli and Dennis recovered 1350 million euros, the net investment reached 1650 million euros.

This is already a very good investment in Serie A, where the transfer market is generally sluggish.

As the club made one transfer after another, Atalanta fans gradually accepted the club's new team.

There was no way to refuse it. They had already completed the acquisition and were planning to build a new stadium. They had also invested 3000 million euros in the transfer market, which was something the Percassi family could not give before.

For Yang Cheng, although he invested 1650 million euros out of his own pocket, the players he brought in are very young and have great potential for appreciation, so he will not lose money in such a deal.

Secondly, the goalkeeper and all three lines have made huge improvements, and Atlanta's overall strength is definitely much better than last season.

Under such circumstances, there will definitely be no problem for Atlanta to stay in the league in the new season.

Yang Cheng himself expected to be in the upper middle level.

How far forward he can get depends on Gasperini's ability.

While operations continued in Atlanta, Yang Cheng also received a long-awaited call.

(End of this chapter)