January 3rd, just two days after the last match, another home league game arrived.
This was the Christmas period, often referred to as the 'Christmas Fixtures'. While other leagues were in their winter break, the leagues under the English professional system were in full swing.
Each team had to play about 7-8 games from mid-December to mid-January, averaging one game every 3-4 days.
Playing such frequent matches in freezing weather caused player injury rates to rise exponentially, but they still had to grit their teeth and persevere.
"This is Sky Sports bringing you the EFL Championship Round 25 broadcast. Inside Bramall Lane Stadium, both teams are ready and waiting, about to begin today's match!
"Sheffield United has been in hot form recently, with an improved attacking firepower! It is said that their winter window signings are mainly aimed at the midfield and defense!"
"..."
"Maël is at the byline! His number of dribbles and dribbling success rate in the current EFL Championship are second only to Queen's Park's Taarabt, Norwich's Holt, and Reading's Sean Long!
"A cross! The landing point is very precise! At the near post, Bologanovic heads the ball!
"A beautiful backward glance, Sheffield United takes the lead at home!!"
"..."
"That's a penalty! Sheffield United has given away too many penalty opportunities to their opponents this season, almost one every two or three games! Sharp is taking the penalty! He shoots the ball towards the center, Robert doesn't judge the direction correctly, the ball goes in!!"
"..."
"Maël has the ball in midfield, the opposing defender doesn't want him to turn around, pressing him step by step. As long as he's in the middle, he's almost safe.
"Still dribbling, he seems to have noticed Evans' run! A pass! Oh...! He can actually pass such a high-quality through ball, the football passes through Doncaster's defense and comes to Evans' feet!
"Goal! Evans is in hot form, scoring 3 goals in 2 league games, and Maël also gets a brace of assists in this game!!"
On the field, Evans, who scored the goal, first ran to the sideline and did a knee slide, then turned to look for Maël.
"If only it had been in the last game."
He was still brooding over not getting a hat-trick, shaking his head and sighing, "Unfortunately, am I destined to never score a hat-trick in my life?"
Maël high-fived him, chuckling, "This time, I hope you don't guess so accurately."
"EFL Championship Round 25, Sheffield United narrowly wins against Doncaster at home! Two to one!" - BBC EFL Championship Column
January 8th, the FA Cup match arrived. Sheffield United, as a second-tier league team, directly participated from the third round.
Their opponent was Aston Villa, a strong team currently ranked sixth in the Premier League.
Gareth Speed directly waved his hand and transferred a few young lads from the youth team to participate in this game with the reserve lineup.
He directly gave up this somewhat redundant front for the current Sheffield United, and gave the core players a few days of rest, so that they could wholeheartedly attack the Premier League in the second half! As expected, the game was a 0-4 crushing defeat, but everyone looked relaxed.
Maël was naturally also in the rotation team. He took advantage of this rare gap to bring up the training plan and intensify training.
Mendes had contacted him a few days ago, and he already knew how generous the new contract he had obtained was.
This was undoubtedly the most expensive contract of his career so far, with his weekly salary increasing by 42k, directly more than five Gilberts.
Of course, he heard that Gilbert's salary would also increase to 23k, which was also a happy thing.
Even if Mendes took 2.75% of his weekly salary, and he had to pay a 40% tax rate.
But after calculation, Maël found that his annual salary was still around 1.6 million pounds.
Exorbitant!
This exceeded the average salary of the Premier League, and also exceeded the median salary of the Premier League, not to mention that it came from Arsenal, which has always been known for 'lack of funds'.
At the same time, the bonus contract that he had never imagined also gave him a great shock.
Maël deeply realized Mendes' ability, and also understood the importance that the old gentleman at the Emirates Stadium, whom he had never met, attached to him.
Now, just wait for the league game on the 15th to pass, and after the Christmas Fixtures, go to London to sign the contract!
"I need to learn how to drive."
Maël had this idea, he couldn't wait to buy himself a sports car after completing the new contract.
Except for those limited editions, the signing fee he received could almost allow him to pick out all the sports cars on the market, and drive whatever he wanted.
It was both to fulfill a dream from his previous life and to have a way to get around.
Neither he nor Gilbert had a driver's license yet, and most of the time they had to rely on Evans and Janu Hans for rides, which was always inconvenient.
Usually, if they wanted to go out and hadn't contacted the club in advance, they would usually have to take a taxi.
Maël didn't feel like he was wasting time. He knew how to drive in his previous life, so getting a driver's license wasn't a big deal for him. He just needed to familiarize himself with the traffic rules here and get used to the driver's seat on the right side.
He practiced whenever he had time, treating it as a way to relax in the driver's seat after a tiring training session.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
At the Sheffield United training base, Maël was sweating profusely as he worked on his weak foot training.
After the cross reached lv4, he only had two skills left to practice: the curved shot and the short pass. This was far from enough.
It was time to add the weak foot to the mix.
He constantly used his left foot for short passes against the wall, shots at the goal, long passes, etc., training his cerebellum and strengthening his muscle memory.
The weak foot panel appeared slower than he had expected. He could roughly guess the reason: this ability should be classified as a mental skill.
Like the observation and physical proficiency panels, it started from 300.
Indeed, this could be considered a mental exercise.
The motor skills of the weaker leg are more controlled by the cerebellum. To master it, you must train the balance and flexibility of the cerebellum in this area. This is not a purely skill-based ability.
On January 11th, Maël, sweating in the cold weather, finally saw his weak foot panel.
[Skill: Weak Foot lv1]
[Proficiency: (131/300)]
[Effect: You are gradually discovering the benefits of practicing your weak foot and are starting to practice diligently, but you still seem far from catching up with your dominant foot. You long for the day you can level up.]
As he expected, the weak foot was indeed classified as a mental skill.
He wasn't discouraged. Having a weak foot is crucial for a player, as it almost doubles their ability.
Very few superstars only use one foot; most can use both.
Even if the starting proficiency was 800 instead of 300, Maël would still practice it without hesitation.
The reason was simple: he had already accumulated a lot of unique skills.
Now, he could take the time to practice this kind of 'overall enhancement' ability.
[Skill: Curved Shot lv3]
[Proficiency: (541/800)]
[Skill: Instep Pass lv3]
[Proficiency: (241/800)]
Looking at the proficiency of the other two skills, Maël intensified his training. If the curved shot could also reach lv4, his combat ability, especially his scoring rate, would increase by another level! "Also, I have to start practicing a skill with 2000 proficiency. I haven't experienced what that feels like yet."
He had a new idea, thinking about choosing a lv3 physical skill or a lv4 technical skill.
In the past, he would have unhesitatingly chosen the long shot ability that had accompanied him all the way, adding a lv5 skill to his arsenal.
But now, after realizing the importance of speed for a winger, he was wavering.
The thought of a lv4 speed ability, which would allow him to initially have the ability to run unhindered on the wing like Adama Traore, was very tempting.
Physical skills are definitely stronger and more useful than technical skills of the same level, which he had already realized.
This may also be one of the reasons why its initial proficiency is higher than that of mental skills.
"Should I grind speed first?"
Maël gradually made a decision. Long shots were already good enough in the EFL Championship, and would probably still be outstanding in the Premier League.
He could wait until his speed ability reached lv4, or when he was no longer practicing other skills, and then add it to the mix and practice it together with speed.
He wasn't someone who would hesitate for long. He made the decision immediately and wrote out a training plan when he got home that night.
The days passed like this, regular and fulfilling, with small surprises happening from time to time.
On January 14th, the therapist Harry finally completed all the prior preparations. He rented two houses on Cherry Street, where Maël lived, and brought his sister along for the trial period.
Maël met them in the training base's gym. To be honest, he instinctively had expectations about what Harry's sister would look like, which was only natural.
"Safina."
She was a woman who looked to be around thirty years old, dressed in a black top and a black pencil skirt, with a black coat draped over her shoulders. At first glance, she gave off a special agent vibe, very capable and refreshing.
She wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, not particularly fashionable, which, combined with her delicate, fair face dotted with small freckles, gave her the air of a university professor.
A cliché name, but a woman with a certain charm. Maël nodded to her, shook her hand, and gave her a light hug.
"I've heard about you from Harry," Safina initiated the conversation, speaking frankly without a clear smile, yet giving a sense of approachability. "Only a rough idea, but I know how to arrange a diet for a training fanatic like you.
"If it's okay, I might have to go to your place later to check the supplies in your kitchen and plan whether I need to buy any equipment."
"No problem."
Maël nodded, remembering what Gilbert had told her, "I live with an Arsenal teammate."
As if guessing what he was about to say, Safina laughed this time, preemptively answering, "If he can accept the same diet as you, I don't mind making two portions; it's not a hassle."
"No."
Maël shook his head, explaining, "I'll pay you an extra 500 pounds a week for groceries, please don't refuse."
He had money now, and he didn't want to take advantage of people or try to curry favor at the start of a collaboration. Over time, it would definitely lead to dissatisfaction.
"Ah."
Safina's eyes lit up. She exchanged a glance with Harry and excitedly came up to hug Maël, "Thank you for your generosity."
Maël smelled a delicate fragrance, followed by a soft sensation on his abdomen. After the hug, he turned his gaze to Harry, "Long time no see, Happy New Year."
"You too."
Harry had been waiting for his sister to finish greeting Maël before stepping forward to hug him. "I've brought the training plan. We might have to do the first fatigue relief session today. I'm ready."
Maël agreed without thinking twice and followed Harry's instructions to start.
It mainly consisted of restorative jogging, training with resistance bands and static stretching, occasionally using exercise balls and other training equipment.
Unlike when he practiced coordination, under the guidance of professionals, he indeed accumulated many effective relaxation methods and understood how to protect some of the body's muscles and vulnerable areas.
This session was very rewarding, far exceeding his expectations.
It seemed that expensive therapists were indeed worth the money in this regard; they could greatly help players.
"Good effect."
After it was over, he carefully felt his body and didn't skimp on his praise, "I feel much more relaxed. As expected, these things are best left to you professionals."
He was somewhat looking forward to what Harry's massage and Safina's nutritional meals would be like.
If the overall feedback from this process was good, he would greatly improve his training efficiency and accelerate the accumulation of proficiency! The three of them took a car towards Cherry Street, chatting along the way. Harry said that he couldn't drive, and Safina could, but neither of them liked it, so they didn't buy a car.
Maël was slightly disappointed, giving up the idea of hitching a ride for the time being, and still placing all his hopes on getting his driver's license.
ps: I might owe a chapter today. I've been up all day and night. I'll fix my schedule tomorrow and write, or I'll write it later if I feel up to it.
19k words updated today.
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