Chapter 13: Reorganization

As the first half drew to a close, Aston Villa boasted a 60% possession rate but trailed in shots, 7 to 11.

Their shots on target were even more dismal, a lopsided 1 to 7.

And most crucially, the score was 0-2.

Helena, seated in the directors' box, could practically hear Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris grinding his teeth as his team—pounded by the supposed relegation favorites—was humiliated on their home turf.

"Sorry, Miss Cartwright. I have some urgent business to attend to…" Sawiris muttered an apology to Helena, trembling with rage as he stormed off at halftime.

This left Aston Villa's CEO Christian Purslow and Football Director Johan Lange with no choice but to slide into the seats next to Helena, their faces grim.

Outwardly, Helena wore a sympathetic expression, but inwardly, she was buzzing with excitement. She still didn't fully grasp the game (and honestly, the pitch wasn't even that visible from the box), but she sipped her wine with relish.

Down on the field, her Burnley, under Kim's laid-back command, effortlessly neutralized Aston Villa's attacks throughout the second half.

As the 90 minutes of regular time concluded and stoppage time began, the stadium announcer's gloomy voice echoed through Villa Park, sounding like an angelic choir to Helena's ears.

"Goal. A goal. 93rd minute of the second half. Burnley's Chris Wood with an additional goal. The score is 0-3. 0-3."

---

*Uh… I'm pretty sure we ended that conversation on a bold note,* Hyung-min thought to himself.

"No way. There's absolutely no budget for player transfers."

It was the morning of August 30th, just two days before the summer transfer window closed on August 31st. Following Burnley's 3-0 thrashing of Aston Villa the previous day—and Hyung-min's official appointment as permanent manager—an emergency board meeting had been called at his request.

Helena's firm rejection of his plea for squad reinforcements hit him hard, prompting Hyung-min to beg once more.

"We can't go on like this. You know it too, Helena. Before the season started, Matej Vydra, Ben Gibson, Aaron Lennon, and Phil Bardsley all left. We've only got 21 players registered for the first team. Three of them are goalkeepers, and Dale Stephens is out with a long-term injury—he won't play this year. That leaves us with just 17 outfield players. We don't even have enough bodies to fill the bench."

Helena twitched an eyebrow, mulling it over before asking, "What about calling up players from the reserves or youth team?"

"Look, let's rule out the youth team for now. If any of them had a realistic shot at joining the first team soon, they'd already be in the reserves. As for the reserves, the only ones remotely capable of playing at first-team level are Richard Nartey, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, and Jacob Bedeau—and they're all out on loan. Plus, Bailey's a goalkeeper, so he's not even an immediate need."

"Can't we terminate their loans?"

John Banaszkiewicz, who'd become Helena's guide in the unfamiliar world of football, answered for Hyung-min.

"Not possible under their current contracts."

Helena sighed, silently cursing her ruthless boss (and father) before returning to the issue at hand.

"Kim… you know this as well as I do, but we're strapped for cash right now. Before ALK Capital pulled out, they signed Maxwel Cornet, Nathan Collins, and Connor Roberts, and whatever spare funds we had, ALK took to pay off their debts. We've barely secured enough to keep the club running this year, but there's genuinely nothing left for transfers."

Hyung-min, who'd witnessed Helenaasterisk Helena pleading with the Cartwright Fund for funds, couldn't bring himself to demand more from her.

But surviving a full season with the current first-team roster was next to impossible.

After a moment's hesitation, Hyung-min pulled out his Plan B.

"Uh… how about this?"

"What?"

Helena, clearly eager to wrap up the conversation and move on now that the new permanent manager was officially in place, gave him a look that screamed reluctance. Hyung-min cautiously pressed on.

"We're trying to overhaul the club's structure anyway, right?"

"More like rebuilding, but yes, sure."

"So, are we aiming to sign young players and sell them for profit?"

"If we can? First, we'd need to replace the old players currently taking up spots with younger ones."

Helena replied distractedly, her eyes drifting back to her laptop.

Silently offering a moment of respect to the veterans suddenly labeled "old," Hyung-min latched onto her words and kept going.

"We can't just sign a bunch of promising youngsters and sell them for big money, but what if we loan them out as a showcase?"

"…?"

As Helena's gaze shifted from her laptop back to him, Hyung-min gestured animatedly, trying to sell his vision.

"So, every club has talented young players with potential, but to fully realize it, they need real game time. Playing raises their value and earns them chances at their parent clubs, so they'll work hard too."

"And?"

"We could loan out high-potential players from top clubs—guys who are basically first-team quality but can't break through due to competition. We guarantee them minutes at Burnley, and their parent clubs cover the costs."

"We're not turning Burnley into a feeder club," Mike Garlick interjected from the side, objecting.

Hyung-min shook his head.

"It's not about becoming a feeder club. We'd decide who to loan and who to send back. If possible, we could even include a permanent transfer option to sign them outright when we have the funds. It'd be a shame to develop them just for someone else to profit."

As Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz exchanged glances, Helena raised a hand slightly.

"Sorry, what's a feeder club?"

"A feeder club is one that partners with a bigger team and takes their players on loan. Think of it like AAA or AA teams in Major League Baseball," Hyung-min explained.

Helena tilted her head. "AAA? AA? What's that?"

Her question left Hyung-min, Mike Garlick, and John Banaszkiewicz momentarily speechless, trading awkward looks.

"Ahem… it's when a small club borrows players from a big club, and the big club uses it to develop their reserves or boost their value for sale," said Arthur, stepping in as the newly appointed assistant coach to rescue the floundering trio.

"Got it. It's like a small bank borrowing short-term funds from a bigger one when cash is tight. But Major League Baseball—is that baseball? Can we stick to one sport? I'm already struggling to learn football," Helena said, ignoring Hyung-min's muttered aside: *I didn't know an American could be this clueless about baseball.*

"If the debt's repayable, borrowing's fine. And with players, you just return them when the loan's up, right? Sounds like a good idea—what's the catch?"

"Feeder clubs don't pay fees but have no say in who comes or goes. Outside that setup, loaning decent players usually means paying a fee," Mike Garlick clarified.

"How much?"

"Well, it varies by player… but for someone Premier League-worthy, it could be anywhere from £250,000 to £1 million a month. Plus, we'd cover their wages."

"Hmm…"

Helena's mental calculator whirred.

"The season runs August to May, so call it 10 months. We're not buying them, just renting, and it's £2.5 million to £10 million a year? That's ridiculous. Motion denied."

Hyung-min clung to her swift rejection. "I'm not saying we pay a fee! We could negotiate no fee and have their club cover wages."

"How on earth would that work?" John Banaszkiewicz asked.

"By guaranteeing game time and imposing steep penalties if we don't deliver. Say a player's loan fee is £250,000 a month—we'd agree to pay £500,000 for any month they don't play."

"Hmm… high risk, high reward?" Helena murmured.

But Hyung-min and John Banaszkiewicz were already deep in an excited back-and-forth.

"Would any club agree to that?"

"If playing time matters more than money and their player's value is guaranteed to rise, sure. It won't work for just anyone, but if we dig, we could find one or two. Then we get them for free."

"What if they flop or get injured long-term and miss a month?" Mike Garlick pointed out.

"We'd add a clause letting us terminate the loan anytime. They could do the same if the player's not performing—mutual termination rights," Hyung-min replied, clearly prepared.

As the three board members mentally processed his proposal, Hyung-min drove the point home.

"This way, we bolster the first team without spending now, the loanee gets minutes, and their club boosts their value. Win-win, right? And if they shine, we can sign them permanently later at a pre-agreed fee once we've got the cash."

"Hmm…"

Hyung-min waited anxiously as Helena ran the numbers, subtly checking Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz's reactions before turning to him.

"Alright. With those terms, it might work."

"But we can only loan two players from other English clubs," John Banaszkiewicz cautioned.

"Then we'll look overseas too."

"How do we find them in such a short time?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Hyung-min said with a beaming grin, brimming with confidence.

"I know a *really* good supplier."