As soon as July began, Gao Shen found himself busier than ever.
The newly signed players started arriving in Manchester one after another. While undergoing medical examinations with Manchester City's staff, they were also searching for homes, preparing to settle down in this unfamiliar city.
Manchester City had dedicated personnel responsible for assisting the players, a special arrangement that Gao Shen had requested.
For now, the new arrivals were staying in hotels, but their housing searches were in full swing.
Meanwhile, the renovation of the Carrington training base was nearly complete, and all departments were fully staffed.
Marcos Sala, formerly of AC Milan's Milan Lab, had now taken over as Manchester City's head of medical services. The medical team under his leadership was already in place.
Fernando Lucas' analysis team was also fully staffed. Including him, there were now five analysts, four of whom had extensive experience in the Premier League or the Championship.
Both departments were working hard in preparation for the team's upcoming trip to South Africa for pre-season training.
This training camp had been arranged before Gao Shen took over as head coach.
Over the years, Premier League clubs had established a structured approach to pre-season tours, which played a key role in the league's global branding.
Every summer, select teams traveled to Asia and North America for friendly matches. This year, Fulham was among those heading abroad, while Manchester United had planned their own tour of Asia, including a visit to China in mid-to-late July, before traveling to Germany for the Audi Cup.
Manchester City, on the other hand, had no official pre-season obligations but had accepted an invitation to South Africa to participate in the Vodacom Challenge. The tournament featured local South African teams and was more about celebrating the Confederations Cup while promoting the following summer's World Cup.
After taking charge, Gao Shen reviewed the plan and, considering South Africa's favorable climate, coordinated with the club and local officials to finalize South Africa as the team's pre-season base.
Mubarak had initially preferred hosting the training camp in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai or Abu Dhabi but the extreme summer heat made it unsuitable for football training. Gao Shen firmly rejected the idea.
However, he did agree to make a brief stop in Abu Dhabi before heading to South Africa.
Since they were flying with Etihad Airways, they would have to transit in Abu Dhabi anyway. Staying for a day would be a good opportunity for the players to meet Sheikh Mansour. If Gao Shen remembered correctly, in a past life, there had been some "special rewards" given during such visits.
A nice bonus!
Even though Manchester City was wealthy, not everything could be solved with money alone.
Organizing an overseas training camp was a logistical challenge.
The first team was traveling, along with the entire coaching staff, the medical department, analysts, nutritionists, and other support staff. Even after reducing the number of personnel as much as possible, it was still a large group.
Beyond travel logistics, there were accommodations, training facilities, match schedules, and even dietary considerations for the players.
The amount of planning required was overwhelming. Although Gao Shen only oversaw the big picture, it was still enough to keep him constantly busy.
During this period, he had to delegate many tasks and couldn't personally handle everything—such as the search for a new center forward.
In fact, he had been meaning to talk with Robinho for some time, but there simply wasn't enough time.
But sometimes, things happen when you least expect them.
For example, just two days before departure, Manchester City youth player Micah Richards suddenly contracted the H1N1 flu virus. As a result, he had to stay behind in Manchester and was unable to travel with the team.
Gao Shen had to make alternative arrangements for him.
After all, they couldn't just leave him alone.
Then, just as he was wrapping up his final tasks before departure, Gao Shen was about to take a short break when his phone rang.
It was Gary Cook.
"The center forward you wanted is here!"
And he was standing right outside the gates of the Carrington training base.
After deciding to sign with Manchester City, the young striker had made his way from Chambéry, France, to Manchester, England, completely on his own.
Unfortunately, he was stopped by security at the gate. With no other option, he called Gary Cook for help.
Why?
Because he didn't even have a proper mobile phone!
—
Seated in his office, Gao Shen studied the tall, powerful French striker sitting across from him.
He still had that signature medium-length side-parted hairstyle. Compared to the image Gao Shen was familiar with, he had less facial hair, but his facial features were exactly the same.
In fact, he looked quite mature for his age.
More importantly, despite being slightly reserved, the young forward couldn't stop smiling, an expression so disarming that it was impossible to be annoyed with him.
He had that natural charm, an innate likability.
Yes, standing before Gao Shen at this moment was none other than Olivier Giroud, the center forward from Ligue 2 side Tours FC.
Speaking of Tours, the club had been promoted from the French third division to Ligue 2 in the summer of 2007. In their first season, they finished sixth, just shy of the promotion playoffs. They were considered a dark horse in the league.
In the summer of 2008, Giroud had performed well in the French third tier, scoring 14 goals in 33 league appearances. His strong physique gave him a significant advantage, which led Tours to sign him for just €130,000.
Last season, he made 23 appearances, scoring nine goals and providing two assists. His performance was solid.
Of course, whether that was truly "good" depended on perspective.
As a center forward, his goal-scoring efficiency wasn't outstanding. However, his tactical value was highly appreciated by head coach Daniel Sanchez. Giroud played as the second-choice striker behind Malian forward Lamine N'Diaye, who was the team's top scorer.
This summer, with N'Diaye moving to Ligue 1 club Nantes, Giroud had become Tours' undisputed first-choice striker.
His close friend, the team's main center-back Laurent Koscielny, also left, joining Lorient for €1.35 million.
Just as Giroud was preparing to establish himself as a starter and make his mark in Ligue 2, he suddenly received an unexpected call from the club.
Manchester City, a Premier League team was interested in signing him.
Shortly after, he received a call from Manchester City CEO Gary Cook.
"Kid, you're lucky—Gao Shen personally asked for you!"
Giroud was completely stunned.
Gao Shen!
That Gao Shen!
After his incredible success at Real Madrid and Napoli, he was now recognized as a world-class manager. A two-time Champions League winner, the coach who had developed elite Serie A strikers like Cavani and Pellè…
And he had specifically asked for him?
How was that even possible?
Yet, within days, Manchester City completed the signing without much negotiation, securing Giroud from Tours for €1 million.
—
"Olivier, can you speak English?" Gao Shen asked.
Giroud scratched the back of his head awkwardly and shook his head.
It turned out that the reason security had stopped him outside Carrington was because he couldn't communicate in English. If he had simply given his name, they would have contacted the coaching staff, and there wouldn't have been an issue.
Gao Shen signaled to Lucas, who quickly stepped out. Moments later, an interpreter arrived.
"Didn't they inform you that you didn't need to report right away? I gave you a week to prepare, and you could have joined us directly in South Africa later," Gao Shen said.
"I know," Giroud replied with a smile, "but I thought it would be better to report early."
"Why?"
"I read in the newspapers that Buenaventura and Pintus have a very rigorous training program, and full attendance is really important. I didn't want to miss out on such valuable training time," Giroud said seriously.
Gao Shen blinked and glanced at his staff, Carlo, Lucas, Buenaventura, and Pintus. All of them looked slightly embarrassed.
Buenaventura, slightly flustered, explained, "Actually, even if you arrived later, we would have arranged special training sessions for you."
Giroud shook his head. "But pre-season training is crucial. I want to integrate into the team as quickly as possible."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Wasn't this guy a bit too eager?
But then again, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Gao Shen noticed his assistants trying hard to suppress their laughter and immediately understood the situation.
"But you see," Gao Shen said, "we're leaving tomorrow. If you come in now, we…"
"I have my passport. I can leave tomorrow," Giroud interrupted.
"What about your luggage…?"
"I just have one suitcase—nothing else," Giroud said. "I don't need anything more. Just a few sets of clothes, and the club will provide my kit. I brought my own boots, but if there's a team-issued pair, I'll wear those too. Everything else is fine."
Carlo raised his head, while Lucas turned away, both clearly struggling to contain their amusement.
Gao Shen smiled and said, "You do realize the contract hasn't even been signed yet? Tours…"
"It's fine! I've already called them, and they're good with everything. I have no demands regarding my salary. As long as I can join your team and participate in training and matches, I'll be happy."
Gao Shen was momentarily speechless.
This guy didn't want anything?
"At the very least, we need to do a medical examination," Gao Shen said, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Normally, internal player medicals could be handled at the club, but for new signings like Giroud, a full hospital examination was required.
"There's nothing wrong with me physically," Giroud said. "If necessary, I'm happy to do the medical. But if you think it's unnecessary, we can skip it."
Hearing this, Gao Shen finally understood, this guy really wasn't going to budge.
Shaking his head, he grabbed his phone.
"Marcos, come to my office."
Less than a minute later, chief team doctor Marcos Sala walked in.
"Get in touch with the hospital immediately and schedule a medical for this afternoon. You can take him there yourself."
Marcos Sala had already noticed the stranger in the office. Now, he gave Giroud a thorough once-over—his gaze reminiscent of a farmer inspecting livestock.
Giroud suddenly felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
"Very strong," Sala finally remarked.
Then, without another word, he gestured for Giroud to follow him.
Giroud repeatedly thanked Gao Shen before rushing after Sala.
As soon as he left, laughter erupted in the office.
(To be continued.)