The next morning, a breeze blew across the Kearney training ground, blowing the sleeves and hair of passers-by.
Maher pulled his suitcase and carried a black bag as he said his final goodbyes to his teammates and coaches.
Gilbert followed him, and from that day on, the two of them truly became people in the same boat and living under the same roof.
All Arsenal U17 players and coaching staff arrived at the entrance of the training base, including some other youth players of lower age groups.
Hearing that another player from the base had joined the Championship team, they naturally wanted to come and see and pay their respects.
"Be safe and be sure to call Sheffield United when you get there."
Coach Hans waved to Maher and Gilbert, saying the old-fashioned farewell: "Be strict with yourself. I will always keep an eye on you."
"Come on, Gilbert!"
"Score a goal in the Championship!"
"Captain, goodbye!"
The other players also waved goodbye to the two, or to be more precise, to Gilbert alone.
Although Mahel's heavy artillery subdued everyone to a certain extent, their emotions towards Mahel were more complicated.
There is no pure admiration, envy is mixed with jealousy.
Ian and several people who had grudges against Maher also came today. They were the people with the ugliest and most complicated expressions.
Even the wave and goodbye to the two of them seemed reluctant.
In a flash, they switched offense and defense with Maher, swapped positions, and everything they had said before seemed like a joke.
Mahel could rain all those insults back upon them any time now if he wanted to.
But Maher didn't seem to have this idea.
"Coach Hans, sneakers."
He did not feel embarrassed about not receiving many blessings. He walked up to Coach Hans with a smile and handed him the black bag. "I forgot about it that day. I'll give it back to you today."
"You are rich now, so I won't refuse."
Hans took the bag and patted Maher on the back: "I hope you can get a chance there. The greater your value, the greater the value of this pair of sneakers to me. I hope it will become part of my collection one day."
"I hope so too."
Maher finally bumped fists with Hans, gave him a hug, and then turned and walked away with Gilbert, pulling the box.
There, Sheffield United scout Jolson was leaning against a pickup truck, his hands in his pockets, waiting for them in a very cool pose.
Judging from his appearance, Jolson is in his thirties, in the prime of his life, and can be considered handsome. The wrinkles left on his face by the years make him more charming like a mature man.
"Get in the car, boys."
Qiao Ersen turned the sunglasses on the back of his head to the front and put them in front of his eyes. "Don't look down on my broken pickup truck. You will be comfortable after we get to the high-speed rail station."
Maher and Gilbert nodded, put their luggage in the back of the pickup truck, and prepared to get in.
After opening the car door, Gilbert suddenly stopped and turned to look at the people at the entrance of the base: "Wait for my good news, and be sure to watch my live broadcast of the game!"
"good!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"We'll be waiting for you to come back!!"
A shout was heard, Gilbert looked at it reluctantly for a few times, and got on the pickup truck.
After the sound stopped, the people at the door had not left yet.
They stared at Maher's figure, their eyes still complicated, but they seemed to expect him to say something.
Mael noticed their emotions but did not shy away.
His eyes swept across the faces one by one, not deliberately passing over Ian and the former annoying guys around them, but looking straight at them all equally.
After everything changed, his mentality was very different from before.
"Come on, brothers!"
He stretched out his right arm and clenched his fist: "See you in the professional arena!"
With a hearty smile, as if everything had disappeared with the wind, Maher got into the pickup truck and closed the door.
There was silence for a while among those at the door, and finally, the shouting broke out again.
"Mael! Come on!"
"You must achieve results!" "Let those veterans in the Championship have a taste of your long-range shooting skills!"
Mael leaned on the car window and looked at them, smiling faintly. After all, they were just a group of children.
Time flies, and they will probably all remember this day.
The car was slightly bumpy as it drove on the road.
This is a very old pickup truck and some parts may have minor problems.
Jolson drove with one hand, with the other hand outside the window, feeling an indescribable sensation through the speed of the car.
"In fact, why don't we just drive to Sheffield?"
Gilbert is a native Englishman. He was born in Leicester and is familiar with the UK. "It's only about three hours' drive."
"what"
Jolson looked back and said, "Don't you think it's bumpy? It's tiring to sit like this.
"Actually, I was going to drive this old guy back to Sheffield, but I was afraid you couldn't handle it, so I sent you on the high-speed train."
"How can athletes be so delicate?"
Gilbert waved his hand and turned to look at Maher next to him, "What do you think? How about we just take a car there?"
"Okay."
Maher had no objection and smiled, "I just wanted to see the scenery along the way."
Jolson laughed a few times, then simply turned the steering wheel and took his hands back from the outside: "Then sit down, I'll try to get you there as soon as possible."
"Be safe."2
Maher and Gilbert reminded in unison that not caring about other things doesn't mean they don't care about this.
The vehicle was driving fast, and after spending some time together and chatting, the three of them became familiar with each other.
Jolson was also a football player in the past. When he was young, he was a member of Sheffield United, but unfortunately he was not very famous.
Through his introduction of himself, Maher's deepest feeling was that this guy must be a die-hard fan of Sheffield and has an indescribable love for the team.
"Sheffield's situation this season is not good. Many players have left the team, and only four players are left from last season's starting lineup."
After chatting for a while, Jolson also talked about serious matters, "Moreover, two of them were the last ones in the main team last season.
"The team has only one goal this season, and that is to avoid relegation! I am sending you two here to work towards this goal."
As soon as Jolson turned his head back, he was 'exclaimed' by the two worriedly, and then turned back to concentrate on driving, "I said this for two main reasons.
"First, the club's current difficult situation is a good thing for both of you, because it means that it will be much easier for you to get playing time, and there is a lot of room for you to do well.
"As for the second point, although you are not familiar with me yet, I don't have much face.
"But I still want to say, for my sake, if you have the opportunity to play for Sheffield in the future, you must try your best. I don't want to see the team relegated."
At this time, the pickup truck had entered the city of Sheffield, and many classic British-style buildings appeared in front of us.
Gilbert was about to respond, but Jolson's voice rang out again: "In a sense, you are the team's last two hopes.
"Of course I won't let you give in vain. That would make me look greedy. You can wait until you get to know me better before agreeing to me."
Jolson turned his head again, showing his white teeth and smiling brightly.
The destination was soon reached.
Maher and Gilbert actually always wanted to say that giving their all for the team is a basic quality of a player.
But looking at Jolson's appearance, it seemed that the other party had some obsession or worry that he couldn't let go, so he didn't say much for the time being.
The pickup truck finally stopped in front of a hotel where they were going to stay that night.
"The house has been booked, you guys go up and rest first."
Qiao Ersen got out of the car first to help the two people unload their luggage, and said: "I will go to the nearby to find a rental house for you and take you to see it tomorrow."
"Thank you."
After the two thanked him, Maher reminded them: "The monthly rent will be around 3000 pounds, and our current salaries are not very high."
The two discussed on the way and decided to live together so that they could take care of each other.
Rent, utilities, etc. are shared equally, and the bottom line is that rent cannot exceed the weekly salary by too much.
Of course, they also want to live in a luxurious villa as soon as possible, but their current salary seems to be unable to meet their consumption.
Settle down first, and then improve your environment after a salary increase!
(End of this chapter)