"It's a long way from the B team to the Premier League!"
This was the sentiment expressed by FA Chairman Bernstein when he announced the launch of the youth development reform and introduced the England Elite Player Development Plan, spearheaded by him, within the English Football League.
This wasn't just talk.
Subsequently, the controversial youth training reform plan was passed by a majority vote and officially launched in 2012.
This elite player development program is roughly divided into three stages: Foundation Phase (U9 to U11), Youth Development Phase (U12 to U16), and Professional Development Phase (U17 to U23). Up to 6,000 matches are scheduled annually to meet competitive needs across all age groups.
Youth academies are to be rated every two years.
The higher a club's youth development rating, the more financial support it receives, the better the players it can sign, and the higher the required standards. For example, a Category 1 academy must have at least 18 full-time staff and an annual operating budget of £2.5 million.
Each year, the Premier League hires professionals to audit club academies and allocates subsidies based on the audit results.
Everyone knows the Premier League is rich. This youth development reform was driven by the Premier League, and the funding essentially comes from them.
Some may wonder, why is the Premier League supporting this plan?
The reason is simple. They too are struggling with a lack of local talent.
The skyrocketing valuation of English players is no secret. If nothing is done, domestic player prices will continue to inflate uncontrollably.
As the top flight in English football and the leader of the pyramid, the Premier League has both the responsibility and obligation to act.
One immediate benefit of the reform was the abolition of the so-called "90-minute travel rule" for academy recruitment.
Previously, English youth players had to live within a 90-minute drive of their academy. This severely limited talent pools, especially for clubs in rural or less populated areas.
In short, where there were boundaries before, now there are none. If a player is willing to come, the club can sign him.
However, to protect smaller clubs, the plan also introduced youth transfer rules, establishing compensation for players under 18. For instance, from ages 9 to 11, the fixed compensation is £3,000 per year, while for ages 12 to 16, it ranges from £12,500 to £40,000 per year.
Additionally, youth league rankings were abolished to prevent short-termism. Strict requirements were introduced to ensure that academy players must play at least 50 percent of available match time annually. These reforms aim to promote equality across academies and restrict big clubs from poaching young players at will.
But everything ultimately points in one direction—the Premier League.
The entire structure favors Premier League clubs. It's easy to predict that in the coming years, the flow of young talent will continue to concentrate in Premier League and financially powerful clubs.
So, not long after the program was launched, three clubs including Hereford United announced plans to scale down their youth setups.
This was seen as a silent protest against the plan's Premier League bias.
But the broader direction remained unchanged.
Think about it carefully and it becomes clear. After all, the funding comes from the Premier League.
…
Since Gao Shen took over at Leeds United, he had been restructuring and upgrading the club's youth academy.
Moreover, although Gao Shen wasn't officially listed as a director of the England Elite Player Development Plan, he was deeply familiar with its content. So Leeds United's academy followed the highest standards of implementation.
In fact, Premier League clubs are not heavily regulated in terms of youth academies. Even if a club disbands its academy, as long as the first team meets registration requirements, there's no real penalty. At worst, there may be some public criticism.
But Gao Shen had always been committed to investing.
After a year, Leeds United had developed a basic, complete academy system. This summer, the club would begin accepting young talents from the surrounding areas, as well as those identified by Leeds United's scouting network, and invite them to trials at Thorp Arch.
After multiple rounds of evaluation, the best kids from across the region would enter the age-group teams and officially become part of Leeds United. At the same time, the club had started poaching promising players from lower-league academies.
They were also closely monitoring the youth setups of top clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea, hoping to uncover hidden gems.
And on Leeds United's first trial day this summer, one player stood out above all others.
Erling Haaland.
Yes, that Erling Haaland. The same player whom Gao Shen had encountered during a honeymoon trip to Norway with his wife. The son of former Leeds United star Alfie Haaland had chosen to join the Leeds United academy.
When Gao Shen received the news, he was ecstatic.
"He really decided to come?"
Su Qing smiled and nodded. "I've stayed in contact with them throughout. After the team won the title and secured promotion to the Premier League, I called again and explained our academy restructuring."
"Old Haaland was very interested and naturally wanted his son to receive the best, most professional youth development. Unfortunately, his siblings were reluctant to let their kids travel so far, so only Erling is coming."
Gao Shen didn't care about the others. As long as Erling Haaland was coming, that was enough.
One player is worth it all.
"So what's your plan for him when he arrives?" Gao Shen asked.
Su Qing, Lucas, and Borrell exchanged looks, then Su Qing spoke.
"We plan to treat him like everyone else. No special treatment. Although he's the son of Alfie Haaland, he'll be just like any other player. However, we're considering offering Haaland and his wife jobs at the club. They're still thinking about it."
Haaland Sr. was a well-known former Premier League player. His wife was also an athlete. People like them would have no trouble finding roles at Leeds United, especially with the current youth academy overhaul and severe staff shortages.
Gao Shen exhaled deeply, brows raised with joy, but at the same time, he felt the growing pressure on his shoulders.
Leeds United currently employed nearly 300 full-time staff.
Yes, 300 people.
Once the academy expansion was complete, that number would certainly exceed 300, possibly even 350.
There was no other way.
Just the first-team coaching staff had 25 members. Besides the head coach and assistant coaches, there were rehabilitation therapists, masseurs, doctors, match analysts, performance analysts, fitness instructors, and more.
The commercial department had nine staff. The China office had five, bringing the total to fourteen.
The marketing, media, and PR departments had eleven.
Then there were the finance department, stadium maintenance, training ground operations…
The ticketing office alone had eleven staff, with six ticket agents…
All of these roles were being paid by Leeds United.
Not to mention matchday operations, where just the reception team included fourteen people. On game days, at least 100 to 200 temporary workers were hired for security, ticket checking, ball boys, and so on.
This was already a full-fledged enterprise.
Gao Shen knew very well that the club was entering a new phase.
He had to help Leeds United establish itself firmly in the Premier League.
That thought filled Gao Shen with both pressure and fighting spirit.
…
"If we sell Schneiderlin and Paulinho, we'll be short in midfield. Jorginho and Brozović can both serve as deep-lying playmakers. Pogba and Kondogbia can play as box-to-box midfielders. But Allan alone won't be enough," Gao Shen got straight to the point.
Once you decide to sell players, you need to have everything in place.
Now that they had made it to the Premier League, Gao Shen couldn't afford to let the team slide back down.
"I'll have the data center compile a list once I get back," Borrell responded.
Gao Shen actually already had a preferred target in mind, but he still agreed with Borrell's approach.
Often, experience is valuable. Giving the team room to work was a good thing.
"As for the front line, if Adam Lallana really leaves, then bring in Coutinho from Inter Milan," Gao Shen added.
Lucas and Borrell exchanged glances, hesitated, and looked to Su Qing.
Su Qing gave a small nod. "We've done some initial research. He's valued at around €10 million. Isn't that a bit risky?"
Since Gao Shen had taken over at Leeds United, he had always followed a frugal policy—small investment, big return.
For example, last summer, Paulinho and Schneiderlin were Leeds United's top targets. Both were signed for just £1.5 million each. Now, Manchester United's first bid for Schneiderlin was £15 million, a tenfold return.
But now Gao Shen wanted to spend €10 million on a young player. Wasn't that a bit much?
Did that align with Leeds United's strategy?
"Every transfer carries some risk. But for a talent like Coutinho, the risk is minimal. He's already proven his ability and potential at Espanyol. What we need to do is unlock even more from him."
Gao Shen smiled. "Of course, we want to do big things with small investments. But sometimes, you have to spend when it's necessary. We can't expect to grab every bargain in the world, especially in the Premier League."
In truth, if not for their close ties, Adam Lallana wouldn't have joined Leeds United in the first place.
It's unrealistic to think a Premier League club can build everything on €1–2 million transfers. That's immature and lacks ambition.
Spending over €10 million per signing might seem excessive. Leeds United couldn't afford to do it regularly, but a player like Coutinho was exactly the kind of talent they needed. If they didn't act now, would they wait until January?
More importantly, Coutinho and Pogba were the keys to the left-sided attack-and-defense structure that Gao Shen had designed for Leeds United.
€10 million?
This one will sell for €100 million in the future!
(To be continued.)
***
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