The next morning, a gentle breeze swept through the Colney Training Base, causing the sleeves and hair of passersby to flutter.
Maël, pulling his suitcase and carrying a black bag, was saying his final goodbyes to his teammates and coaches.
Gilbert walked beside him; from this day on, they would truly be in the same boat, living under one roof.
The entire Arsenal U17 team and coaching staff came to the training base entrance, including some youth players from other lower age groups.
Having heard that the base had produced another player going to an EFL Championship team, they naturally had to come and see, to pay their respects.
"Be careful, be sure to call when you get to Sheffield United."
Coach Hans waved to Maël and Gilbert, saying the same old farewell: "Be strict with yourselves, I'll be watching you."
"Good luck, Gilbert!"
"Score a goal in the EFL Championship!"
"Goodbye, Captain!"
The other players also waved goodbye to the two, or rather, to Gilbert alone.
Although Maël's Long Shot had subdued everyone to some extent, their emotions towards Maël were more complex.
There was no pure admiration, and envy was mixed with jealousy.
Ian and a few others who had clashed with Maël in the past also came today; they were the ones with the most unpleasant and complex expressions.
Even waving goodbye to the two of them seemed reluctant.
In an instant, they and Maël had switched roles, their positions reversed, and the words they had said before seemed like jokes.
If Maël wanted, he could now pour all those insults back on them at any time.
However, Maël didn't seem to have that thought.
"Coach Hans, the shoes."
Nor did he feel embarrassed about 'not receiving many blessings'; he smiled and walked up to Coach Hans, handing him the black bag: "I forgot that day, I'm returning them to you today."
"You're very wealthy now, so I won't decline."
Hans took the bag and patted Maël on the back: "I hope you get a chance over there. The greater your value, the greater the value of these shoes to me. I hope they become a collector's item of mine one day."
"I hope so too."
Maël finally bumped fists with Hans, gave him a hug, and then turned to leave with Gilbert, pulling their suitcases.
There, Sheffield United scout Joelson was leaning against a pickup truck, hands in his pockets, waiting for them in a very cool pose.
Judging by his appearance, Joelson was in his thirties, in his prime, and could be considered handsome and dashing. The wrinkles that time had left on his face only gave him a more mature charm.
"Get in the car, boys."
Joelson flipped the sunglasses hanging behind his head to the front and put them on. "Don't mind my old pickup truck, you'll be comfortable after we get to the high-speed rail station."
Maël and Gilbert nodded, put their luggage in the back of the pickup truck, and then prepared to get in the car.
Opening the car door, Gilbert suddenly stopped, turned and looked at the people at the entrance of the base: "Wait for my good news, be sure to watch my game live!"
".Okay!"
"We will, Captain!"
"We're waiting for you to come back!!"
A burst of shouts rang out, and Gilbert looked back a few times with reluctance before getting into the pickup truck.
After the sound stopped, the people at the entrance had not yet left.
They stared at Maël's figure, their gazes still complex, but they seemed to expect him to say something.
Maël noticed their emotions and didn't act coy.
His gaze swept across each face, not deliberately skipping over Ian and the other former troublemakers, but looking at them all equally.
After everything changed, his mentality was very different from before.
"Let's go! Brothers!"
He extended his right arm, clenching his fist: "See you on the professional stage!"
With a hearty laugh, as if everything had dissipated with the wind, Maël got into the pickup truck and closed the door.
The people at the door were silent for a moment, and finally, the cheers erupted again.
"Maël! Go for it!"
"Be sure to make a name for yourself!"
"Let those old foxes in the EFL Championship taste your Long Shot skills!"
Maël leaned on the car window and looked at them, smiling faintly, after all, they were just a bunch of kids.
As time passes, they should all remember this day.
The car drove on the road, a little bumpy.
It was a very old pickup truck, and some parts probably had minor problems.
Joelson drove with one hand, with one hand placed outside the window, feeling some indescribable sensation through the speed of the car.
"Actually, why don't we just drive to Sheffield?"
Gilbert was a native Brit, born in Leicester City, and was more familiar with England, "It's only about a three-hour drive."
"Ah."
Joelson looked back, "Aren't you afraid of the bumps? It's tiring to sit like this.
"Actually, I wanted to drive this old fellow back to Sheffield, but I was afraid you couldn't handle it, so I was going to send you to take the high-speed rail."
"Athletes aren't that delicate, are they?"
Gilbert waved his hand and turned to look at Maël next to him, "What do you think? Should we just drive there?"
"Sure."
Maël of course had no objection, smiling: "I was just thinking about seeing the scenery along the way."
Joelson laughed a few times, then simply turned the steering wheel and pulled his hand back from outside: "Then buckle up, I'll try to get you there as soon as possible."
"Be careful." Maël and Gilbert instructed in unison, not caring about other things didn't mean they didn't care about this.
The vehicle drove quickly, and through a period of getting along and chatting, the three became familiar with each other.
Joelson used to be a football player, and was once a member of Sheffield United when he was young, but he wasn't considered famous.
Through his introduction of himself, Maël's deepest feeling was that this guy must be a die-hard Sheffield fan, with an indescribable love for the team.
"Sheffield's situation this season is not good, with many players leaving, and only four players remaining from last season's main squad."
After chatting for a while, Joelson also started talking about serious matters, "Moreover, two of them are considered the bottom of the barrel in last season's main squad.
"The team's only goal this season is to avoid relegation! I'm bringing you two over to work towards this goal."
Joelson had just turned his head back when he was 'scolded' a few times by the two with concern, and then turned back to concentrate on driving, "What I mean by this mainly has two points.
"One is... the club's current difficult situation is a good thing for you two, because it means that the difficulty of getting playing time has been reduced a lot, and it can be considered promising.
"As for the second point... although you are not familiar with me yet, and I don't have much face.
"But I still want to say, for my sake, if you have the opportunity to represent Sheffield in the future, you must do your best... I don't want to see the team relegated."
At this time, the pickup truck had already entered Sheffield city, and many classic British buildings appeared in front of them.
Gilbert was about to respond, but Joelson's voice sounded 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 seem greedy, you can wait until you are familiar with me before agreeing to me."
Joelson turned his head again, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, smiling very brightly.
The destination was also quickly reached.
Maël and Gilbert had actually always wanted to say that doing their best for the team was a basic quality of a player.
But looking at Joelson's appearance, the other party seemed to have some obsession or worry that he couldn't let go of, so they didn't say much for the time being.
The pickup truck finally stopped in front of a hotel, where they would be staying for the night.
"The rooms are booked, go up and rest first."
Joelson got out of the car first to help the two unload their luggage, saying, "I'll go find you a rental apartment nearby and take you to see it tomorrow."
"Thank you."
After thanking him, Maël reminded him, "The monthly rent should be around 3,000 pounds; our current salaries aren't very high."
The two had discussed it on the way and decided to live together so they could look after each other.
They would split the rent, utilities, and so on, with the bottom line being that the rent couldn't exceed too much of their weekly salary.
Of course, they also wanted to live in a luxury villa as soon as possible, but their current salaries didn't seem to be able to meet that level of spending.
Settle down first, and then improve the environment after a raise!
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