Demien absorbed this in silence while the apartment stayed quiet around him.
"Now you can talk," Marco said.
"I can't think about transfers right now," Demien said. "The England announcement came six hours ago. I haven't processed that yet."
"I understand that," Marco said, and the patience in it was genuine rather than performed. "But I need you to also understand that the calendar doesn't care about your processing time. The window opens in seventeen days and clubs with fifty million euros on the table don't hold their position indefinitely while a nineteen-year-old gets comfortable with the idea."
"I know that," Demien said.
"Good." Marco's voice settled slightly. "So I'm not asking you to make a decision today. I'm asking you to agree that we sit down properly and go through everything together before the window opens. Face to face. I'll come to you, or you come to me — wherever is easier."
