Chapter 407: Chapter 407

Hearing the text message notification sound from under the pillow.

Capello turned his head for a glance, noticed that his wife Laura was still fast asleep, then rubbed his eyes and fumbled for his cellphone.

Usually, Capello was very careful not to let work disturb his private life.

But today, he had a reason to not turn off his phone.

Seeing that the message was from Huang Kaiwen, Capello reached for his glasses on the nightstand, put them on, slowly moved out from under the covers, and got out of bed with light steps.

Navigating with the faint light of the cellphone, he tiptoed out of the bedroom.

If he were at his home in Italy, he could walk out with his eyes closed.

Fabio Capello had just left the bedroom, when "sleeping" Laura Capello slowly opened her eyes and gazed at the ceiling.

It must be that young man who made Fabio go from disdain to taking seriously, and ultimately trying everything but failing to beat.

She still remembered when Kevin’s transfer to Real Madrid was announced; Fabio had become anxious, much more nervous than when he met her father, afraid the news was false or that Barcelona would snatch him.

Once Kevin’s transfer to Real Madrid was confirmed, Fabio was so excited that he couldn’t sleep all night, and she didn’t know where he got the energy at his age.

Now that Fabio was coaching Kevin, she didn’t have to worry about her husband anymore.

Laura Capello smiled and shook her head, then closed her eyes to sleep.

After closing the study door.

Capello finally turned on the light to read the message on his phone.

"Hamburg’s Nigel De Jong, Porto’s Kepler Ferreira, Braga’s Diego Costa."

Capello read aloud, noting down the three names on paper.

The Dutch were amongst Real Madrid’s scouting priorities.

The Netherlands is Barça and Cruyff’s stronghold; even if unable to purchase, observing can at least drive up prices and vex Barcelona.

Nigel De Jong holds a degree in economics, his father is a former Dutch international, shifted from defense to midfield, had more goals than yellow cards early on, but since settling as a defensive midfielder he started with 12 games, 6 yellows, and missed part of the season due to injury.

Capello didn’t ponder why Kevin wanted to play with De Jong, but instead considered De Jong’s positioning.

If he came to Real Madrid, he would likely replace Mahamadou Diarra or be rotated.

A degree in economics also suggests that the player is quite intelligent.

Kepler Ferreira, nicknamed Pepe.

Seeing he was Brazilian, Capello showed a look of realization.

It seems Kevin enjoys playing with Brazilians, having had a good relationship with several Brazilian players at Milan, and it was the same at Real Madrid.

Moreover, Pepe had acquired Portuguese nationality, which was an advantage.

As for Diego Costa, Capello struggled to find a few sentences in the scouting report; players Braga needed to loan out were never a target for Real Madrid, with the scout specifically noting that this was a cunning forward with lots of little tricks.

Brazilian and Spanish dual nationality, again Brazilian.

Capello noted one thing - all three players had an aggressive defensive style.

Capello, taking off his glasses and pressing the bridge of his nose, sighed.

It must be the El Clásico leaving a psychological shadow on Kevin, hence his eagerness to find some tough teammates.

Capello could completely understand the concerns players with excellent technique have when facing harsh fouls.

From the reports, only Pepe seemed likely to find his place at Real Madrid, De Jong was probably at backup level, and as for Costa, Capello was not optimistic; he would go to the club tomorrow to ask the scouting department for video tapes to study further.

Capello felt he should work on two fronts.

On one hand, try to bring in the first two players to reassure Kevin.

On the other hand, he needed to find a real Wizard for protection.

Thinking of Kevin’s performance, Capello couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Less than two months after joining Real Madrid, Kevin had already played 4 games, a rate surpassing his time at Milan. What could that fatso Ancelotti compete with him, Fabio Capello?

Perhaps this season, he could let Kevin play 30 games.

games could decide all championships!

The next day, the hard-working Huang Kaiwen was still in dreamland.

Capello had already arrived early at the Real Madrid Club, and after watching the tapes, he found that Pepe, besides being aggressive, had very good physical condition and positioning but was sometimes rash.

Defensive players tend to mature with more game time; rashness is not an issue.

De Jong’s performance in the Bundesliga was also good, and the key was that he was very affordable, the cost of trying him out wasn’t high. Since Kevin wanted him as a teammate, they might as well buy him and try.

Capello, having made a decision, quickly walked to the president’s office.

"Mr. President, I already have targets for the winter transfer period."

Capello handed over the data for two players.

"You’ve come at the right time, he is also here to discuss winter signings."

Calderon said with a smile.

He had already agreed with Mijatovic, they would share the kickbacks.

"Pepe? He’s also one of our targets, but I think you’ve underestimated his transfer fee," Mijatovic said while browsing the files. "We estimate his value at over 25 million Euros, it’s definitely impossible to buy him for 15 million Euros. As for someone like De Jong, he’s not up to Real Madrid standards, we should bring in a Dutch offensive genius; they can play beautiful combinations with Kevin."

"These two names were recommended by Kevin," Capello said, raising his eyebrows.

Mentioning Huang Kaiwen seemed to energize him.

"Then, you can go back for now, Fabio, we will consider your suggestion," Calderon said.

"Ramon, if we buy now, we don’t have much time to operate."