As time moved into July, the attention of the footballing world remained fixed on the top leagues. On one hand, fans marveled at the spending power of Paris Saint-Germain. On the other, they expressed disappointment at Manchester City, who, despite being a wealthy club in recent seasons, had remained quiet in the transfer market.
Rather than bringing players in, City sent Stephen Ireland to Aston Villa.
In addition, Manchester City officially announced the sale of Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Adam Lallana, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois—who had been on loan in Belgium—to Leeds United of the Championship.
This once again stirred controversy over the relationship between the two clubs.
Many began to question the legitimacy of the transactions, accusing Gao Shen of misusing his influence to divert funds.
However, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak publicly clarified that the deals had been agreed upon by the City management, and that Leeds United had paid full transfer fees. The combined total for the four players exceeded £5 million.
This immediately set off a frenzy among Yorkshire media and Leeds United fans.
As the Yorkshire Post put it: "This looks like a team ready for the Premier League!"
Leeds United fans were excited. These players were hand-picked by Manchester City, and though they came at a high price, the fact that Leeds was even able to buy them suggested City was giving them special treatment.
Of course, only Leeds and Manchester City knew the full story. The transfers did total over £5 million, but they were payable in installments.
This meant that even after signing the four players, Leeds United still had room to maneuver in the transfer market.
The next target was Congolese winger Yannick Bolasie from League One side Plymouth Argyle.
He had played for Plymouth in League One last season.
Just to be clear—this was Plymouth, not Portsmouth.
Plymouth is located in Devon, in southwest England. Portsmouth is in Hampshire, in the southeast. They are not the same place.
After Plymouth was relegated from League One, Leeds United signed Bolasie for just £100,000.
But this transfer caused some issues for Leeds United.
Bristol City manager Keith Millen publicly accused Leeds United in the media of breaching transfer regulations. He claimed Bristol had already reached a verbal agreement with Bolasie, and Plymouth had tacitly approved the deal.
"After Leeds United stepped in, Bolasie broke our agreement!" Millen said.
Bristol City even stated they were considering filing a complaint with the FA.
Leeds United quickly responded, saying the club had gone through formal recruitment channels and had not violated any rules. As for Millen's claim of a verbal agreement, Leeds said they had no knowledge of it.
Bolasie himself also clarified in the Yorkshire Post, saying he had never finalized anything with Bristol City.
"They did contact me, and I expressed willingness to join, but we never signed anything."
In the end, Bristol City did not pursue legal action, and the matter was resolved.
It was clear that Bristol City's transfer process had simply been too slow, and Leeds swooped in and sealed the deal.
It wasn't major news at first. But once Gao Shen got involved, it became a hot topic in the media.
Who would have thought that one of the best managers in football would go to League One just to pick up a relegated player?
Especially someone like Bolasie. Who was he, and what made him worth such a fuss?
Turns out, the Congolese winger had scored only seven goals in League One last season. But at 22 years old, he was fast and strong.
To put it bluntly, nothing special.
There were plenty of fast players in the British Isles.
The key detail was that Bolasie had British nationality, but no local household registration.
…
As the British media continued to stir the pot, Leeds United made another quiet move.
This time, the signing was Ryan Bertrand, a young left-back from Chelsea's youth system.
At 21 years old, Bertrand was a product of Chelsea's chaotic youth development setup.
He had been loaned to Bournemouth and Oldham in League One and had performed well. Later, he spent 18 months on loan at Championship side Norwich, where his development accelerated.
In the 2009-2010 season, he was loaned to Reading and played a key role, helping the team finish ninth in the Championship. He was a regular starter.
Last season, he was loaned to Nottingham Forest and again performed well. But after being recalled to Chelsea in the winter, he played just 33 minutes in the second half of the season. Even in the reserves, he was barely used, appearing just eight times.
Years of loan spells, followed by half a season wasted, left Bertrand with no chance at Chelsea. His market value had remained around £1 million.
Leeds United persuaded Chelsea to let him go, and the final transfer fee was £1 million.
With Ashley Cole, Zhirkov, and Dutch youngster Van Aanholt all ahead of Bertrand, Chelsea had no problem letting him leave.
After completing the Bertrand deal, Leeds United finally completed another long-awaited signing.
The club announced the arrival of 21-year-old French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton for £1.5 million.
The negotiations had dragged on for more than a month and were extremely difficult.
Southampton had just been promoted from League One to the Championship and had initially planned to keep Schneiderlin as a core piece. But after they sold their young star Chamberlain to Arsenal for £12.5 million, things changed.
Schneiderlin had joined Southampton with the belief that they could reach the Premier League. But in his first season, they were relegated to League One.
He had stayed loyal and worked hard over the past two years. However, the departure of midfield core Adam Lallana had left the team lacking creativity. They finished fourth in League One last season and barely scraped into the Championship via a playoff win over Huddersfield.
But as soon as they got promoted, they sold Chamberlain at a high price. The squad became unsettled.
More importantly, after selling Chamberlain, the Saints showed no ambition to strengthen their squad.
There had been rumors that Southampton wanted to buy Lallana back from Manchester City, but the midfielder was convinced by Gao Shen and joined Leeds United instead. This crushed Schneiderlin's confidence in Southampton's ambitions.
So when Leeds United made an offer, Schneiderlin was eager to leave. Everyone in football knew Leeds were serious contenders for promotion.
Southampton rejected several bids. In the end, Schneiderlin, through his agent, applied pressure on the Saints. After lengthy negotiations, the two clubs finally agreed on a £1.5 million fee.
This was significantly above his current market value of £1.15 million.
After landing Schneiderlin, Leeds United quickly announced another signing. They had acquired Belgian striker Christian Benteke from Standard Liège for €1 million.
The 20-year-old striker had been loaned to Mechelen last season as part of the deal that brought Cameroonian forward Alois Nong to Standard Liège. Benteke made 19 league appearances, logging 1,331 minutes and scoring four goals. His performance was average.
But Leeds United highly valued the transfer.
This deal had been negotiated personally by Gao Shen during a trip to Belgium.
Gao Shen had initially gone to Belgium to speak with Courtois and convince the goalkeeper to join Leeds United. While there, he also visited Standard Liège and successfully completed the Benteke signing.
€1 million was not a small fee for a striker who couldn't get playing time at Standard Liège.
…
As the new season's training camp drew near and more players joined the squad, Gao Shen could feel his confidence in Leeds United growing.
Especially as he engaged more directly in transfer negotiations, he began to gain new insights.
Take the striker position, for example.
Gao Shen had considered many forwards: Jay Rodriguez from Burnley, Carlos Bacca from Barranquilla in Colombia, Jackson Martínez from Pumas in Mexico, and Benteke from Standard Liège.
All met Leeds United's requirements and had decent individual quality.
Initially, Gao Shen was most interested in Jackson Martínez.
Why?
Because at 24, he was in his prime. He had great physical attributes and ability. If the team built its attack around him, he could quickly prove his value.
And when that time came, he could be sold for a profit.
But after dining with FA chairman Bernstein in London, Gao Shen realized that work permits were not easy to secure. Paulinho, as a Brazilian, was relatively straightforward.
But both Mané and Salah had problems. Even Bernstein could only promise to "do his best." Success wasn't guaranteed.
So signing Jackson Martínez would likely lead to work permit issues.
Martínez had joined the national team in 2009, but hadn't played since September 2010 due to ankle surgery. His international appearances were insufficient.
Bacca was even worse—he hadn't been called up at all.
Faced with this situation, Gao Shen had to choose between Jay Rodriguez and Benteke.
As for someone like Lucas Moura, who transferred to Chelsea this summer for £16 million, that was far beyond Leeds United's budget.
After discussions with Burnley, Gao Shen ultimately chose Benteke due to his lower price tag.
Benteke's current performance wasn't as good as Jay Rodriguez. Rodriguez had played a full Championship season and scored 14 goals. He was more proven at this level.
But Burnley's asking price was too high for Leeds.
Gao Shen had no choice but to compromise.
Fortunately, Benteke, while looking a bit clumsy, actually had solid footwork. His only flaw was his finishing...
(To be continued.)