Liverpool's youth academy offered excellent treatment.
The cafeteria environment was very good, and even if a player didn't perform well, he could still eat there.
Professional physical therapists devised reasonable diets to ensure the young players' healthy growth.
After Lin Chen joined the youth training camp on July 17th, he officially began his intense training, striving to improve his attribute values.
His training focused on explosiveness, speed, and long-range shooting.
Lin Chen didn't want to be a 'wheelchair' on the field.
As an all-around Midfielder, he had to possess strong explosive propulsion capabilities.
This would help the team instantly transition from defense to offense and seize counter-attacking opportunities.
Lin Chen knew that he had to achieve sufficient growth in his abilities before the new season's youth League began, to earn an early promotion to the First Team.
Because his initial attribute values were very low, Lin Chen improved quickly with training. In particular, the five attributes boosted by the Gerrard Cannon Shot All-Around Growth Module showed especially significant improvement.
This was more like the difference between going from 140 to 150 points and 40 to 50 points.
The latter was clearly easier, as one could easily break through by just guessing two more multiple-choice questions correctly.
One month later.
August 7th.
Randall entered the tactical meeting room holding the starting lineup.
Tomorrow, the new season's youth League would kick off, and Liverpool's first opponent was Manchester City.
After Mansour's takeover, Manchester City spent lavishly to build a brand-new, modern, and advanced youth academy.
Subsequently, they introduced many highly talented young players, at one point dominating the youth League, with many young players in their squad receiving significant attention.
At this moment, Lin Chen sat in the center of the first row, surrounded by his teammates.
Over the past month, his muscles had visibly grown.
A month of hard training had even sculpted the angles of his face, making the already handsome Lin Chen look even more heroic.
"Tomorrow we play Manchester City, do you think we can win?" Ojo whispered softly beside him, looking a little nervous.
"What's there to be afraid of? Just do it," Lin Chen said nonchalantly.
After all, in one month, his attributes had improved across the board.
Let alone Manchester City, the youth academy of any team would not pose a threat to him.
A brand new attribute panel glowed in his mind, with multiple attributes having been enhanced.
Name: Lin Chen
Age: 17
Length: 18.89
Height: 1.83
Weight: 76.3 kg
Shots in the box: 70
Long Shots: 77
Attacking Positioning: 71
Short Passing: 70
Vision: 72
Heading: 69
Stamina: 76
Explosiveness: 75
Speed: 75
Interceptions: 66
Tackling: 65
Defensive Positioning: 68
Dribbling: 70
Strength: 90
Crossing: 69
Curve: 69
Long Passing: 70
Skill: "Gerrard Cannon Shot!"
Attribute values below 70 increased very quickly.
Lin Chen could see the experience bar visibly moving almost every training session, but after reaching 70, the training speed slowed down.
After reaching 75, the speed was clearly even slower, acting like a watershed.
For example, for the Strength attribute, which had already reached 90, after a full month of strenuous training, Lin Chen only saw it symbolically move forward by a tiny increment.
It was as if it was telling him that his efforts had not been in vain.
However, based on his subsequent research into the system, Lin Chen discovered that.
Through matches, especially by performing well in high-level matches, the experience gained was greater than from training.
Therefore, once he could compete in the Premier League, the better he performed, the faster his attributes would improve, thus forming a virtuous cycle!
Randall opened the projector, displaying Manchester City's key youth players.
"First up, Phil Foden."
"An absolute genius."
Randall played his youth academy video.
"His dribbling is exquisite, and he's basically already pushed into the First Team."
"Not many young players are valued so highly by Guardiola."
In the video, Foden's dribbling could almost take on three players at once, repeatedly showcasing brilliant solo runs.
Lin Chen watched intently, while Ojo, for some reason, unconsciously started shaking his leg.
"Stop shaking!" Lin Chen pressed down on Ojo's leg.
"What are you afraid of? He can't get past you."
Ojo gave him a look that said, 'Do you really think I believe you?'
"One-on-one, no one in the entire youth League last season managed to stop him."
Lin Chen smiled and said, "That's because I wasn't here last season."
On stage, Randall continued his introduction.
"Second, Brahim Diaz."
"Attacking Midfielder, very strong running ability."
"Third, Palmer."
"His height affects his ceiling, but his ball control is good, a key player on the wing."
"Fourth, Doyle."
"Center-back, excellent frontal interceptions, with the ability to turn and chase back."
A total of four players to pay close attention to, highlighting the strength of Manchester City's youth academy.
A tough battle was inevitable!
August 18th, first round of the youth League.
Manchester City vs. Liverpool!
There were no locker rooms; both teams' players simply prepared on the sidelines.
Hundreds of Fans gathered, mostly loyal Liverpool Fans from the local area.
This youth League received very little attention; only local Fans with free time would choose to watch in the afternoon.
It was Sunday, and the weather was unusually cool, so even more spectators gathered on the sidelines.
They were mostly Liverpool Fans, loudly cheering for their young players.
Gradually, Lin Chen, who was changing his shoes, caught the Fans' attention.
"Is that Lin, who transferred back from Castilla?"
"It seems to be him. They say he kicked a Fan, but that Fan really deserved it."
"In that case, he's a spirited young man, I like him!"
The Fans chatted excitedly as both teams entered the field, with Lin Chen at the back of the line.
Standing to his right was Phil Foden, known as a top talent.
Lin Chen couldn't help but size him up.
He looked small, slender, and somewhat cute.
The unnamed Referee waved, confirming both sides were ready, and then blew the whistle.
Manchester City kicked off.
Phil Foden got the ball and pushed forward without hesitation.
No Liverpool Fans didn't know Foden.
"Last season's dribbling king, 100% successful dribbles."
"He was also called up to the First Team by Guardiola early, even getting a few minutes of playing time; he's definitely a genius in the future."
"How envious! If only he were one of our Liverpool youth players."
While the Liverpool Fans were discussing, Foden had already dribbled past them and was in front of Lin Chen.
Facing Foden, Lin Chen remained calm.
His eyes weren't fixed on the ball, but only on Foden's feet.
Foden dropped his shoulder, first moving to the left.
After a feint, he immediately pulled the ball and changed direction!
Connecting with a 'roulette' move!
This was his tried-and-true dribbling maneuver!
After instinctively performing the roulette, Foden even looked up to check if any teammates were making runs ahead.
He believed he had successfully broken through.
However, upon looking up, Foden found that only the iron-bull-like back of Lin Chen appeared before him.
Immediately after, a surge of powerful force came from his chest!
"Bang!!!"
He leaned back!
And fell to the ground!
Ojo's pupils dilated, and a few wisps of air escaped his wide-open mouth.
"Are you kidding me?"
"He..."
"He knocked him down???"