I became the Premier League’s youngest manager

Jonathan Landrys was a handsome, slightly portly man with short, curly hair and a scraggly beard.

He drove all the way from Liverpool to Banfield, saying he wanted to see it in person since he was nearby. After exchanging greetings with his former bosses Mike Garlick and John Banaskiewicz, he took his seat.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Helena Cartwright, and I am currently the Chairperson and CEO of Isahee."

"Jonathan Landris, thank you for meeting with me."

Since joining Liverpool in 2013, Jonathan had been a key member of the analytics team that the owner FSG Group worked hard to develop. He spoke frankly about why he wanted to move on.

"There are a lot of really smart guys at Liverpool. I enjoy analyzing players, but I also want to get closer to decision-making, like recruiting decisions or transfer negotiations, rather than just making recommendations."

"Is it because Michael Edwards is there?"

Jonathan Landrys shook his head at the mention of the young genius, the director of football who is credited with more than half of Liverpool's current powerhouse status.

"Well, you can't compare me to a genius like Michael. And even if Michael steps down, there's still assistant sporting director Julian Ward, so it's still a long way before I get my chance."

"Then?"

"I think if I get a chance at Burnley, I can gain a lot of good experience. Burnley has an aging squad, and whether they avoid relegation or not this season, they can't avoid a complete overhaul. As someone in charge of recruiting and releasing players, it's a really exciting opportunity."

"Then what do you think Burnley should do?"

Helena's question took Jonathan Landrys a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Well... depending on whether or not we avoid relegation this season, the level of players will change a bit, but the general trend will be the same. Considering the financial situation, I think the club's operating structure will inevitably shift toward bringing in promising players and selling them on."

Jonathan continued his explanation, gesturing to the training ground outside his window.

"In fact, Burnley's showcase policy is being watched with great interest by Liverpool as well. Liverpool's first team is so strong and continues to recruit from outside, so unless you're a genius like Trent Alexander-Arnold, it's very difficult for a young player to become a regular in the first team. If this kind of player ability verification in the Premier League works, everyone will line up to lend them a player."

The directors listening nodded.

"I also worked as a youth development analyst at Everton, so I think I have experience in selecting young players. I think if we fill in the squad's shortcomings with showcase loans, continue to recruit promising players, and develop them internally, we can maintain stable performance in the long term while also ensuring a smooth supply of players."

"And then there's this," Jonathan Landrys added.

"Now, with Liverpool's status and financial power, and the ability to play under Manager Klopp, we can bring in most players. That's good for building a strong squad, but… it's a bit boring, you know?"

"It may sound a little strange, of course," Jonathan Landrys said, finishing his detailed answer with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Is there anything else?"

Jonathan Landrys glanced at Helena's question, then shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Working under an American owner, I found it wasn't all that bad. FSG was a good owner. When I asked my American friends in Liverpool about FSG, they said the Cartwright Fund was not bad. They were strict but fair, and they knew how to take care of their people. I thought that was enough."

Helena checked the expressions of the other two directors, then smiled brightly at Jonathan Landrys.

"Pass!"

"Oh, really?! Just like this?"

Jonathan Landrys exclaimed with a mixture of surprise, delight, and bewilderment.

"He has enough experience, ability, and motivation. Above all, he has figured out the direction we are going to take from the outside, so there is no need for us to explain. He worked at Burnley, so he knows the ins and outs well."

"Wow! Thank you!"

"So when can you start working?"

Helena asked, amidst the congratulatory and welcoming remarks from Mike Garlick and John Banaskiewicz. The delighted Jonathan Landrys also shook hands with Helena.

"Oh, I think it would be good to finish up my work in Liverpool and take some rest with my wife."

"Oh, I see. Then… you can start working next week."

"…yes?!"

"Then I take it you agree... John, please make sure Mark signs the contract before he leaves the building."

"I will definitely take care of that."

John Banaskiewicz answered with a sinister smile that didn't quite fit his otherwise good-natured face.

"There's a difference between getting your salary on time and managing it properly."

"…Uh, wait a minute…"

Jonathan Landrys, still not quite grasping the situation, looked around at the three board members and stammered.

John Banaskiewicz, who had been holding the arm of the good-natured technical director tightly so he couldn't escape the pit of exploitation, dragged Jonathan Landrys out of the conference room to write up the contract.

Having secured a key executive colleague (read: Prisoner Number 4) to share the heavy workload with, Helena and Mike Garlick looked on in bewilderment and mournful contemplation as the new victim was dragged away, their eyes a mixture of sadness and elation.

Jonathan Landrys, feeling somewhat bewitched, signed the contract and returned to Liverpool after trying hard to reject John Banaskiewicz's kind but somewhat creepy offer to find him accommodation nearby.

Jonathan, who had been expecting a proper vacation after changing jobs, couldn't figure out how to explain it to his family. But suddenly, he found himself going to work the following Monday, and contrary to his confusion, he immediately began to demonstrate his abilities.

The general framework had already been explained to the board of directors during the interview process, and upon hearing the story, Hyungmin and Arthur raised their hands in warm welcome.

First, he set about rebuilding the scouting team that had resigned along with manager Sean Dyche. With the consent of the board of directors (Helena, to be exact), he quickly hired six people: one scout from Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland), one scout from South America, and one scout from each of the four regions of Europe: Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe.

"First of all, in Britain, we scout mainly in the Championship and Scottish Premier League. Since many Premier League clubs are competing to bring in good players here, it may not be easy in terms of cost, but the advantage is that you can observe them up close and repeatedly, and they adapt quickly."

That's why Jonathan was effectively just one scout covering the whole of Britain, which had hundreds of football clubs.

"And in the other five major leagues—namely Spain, France, Italy, and Germany—it's right to scout reserves or youth players rather than regular players. In South America, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe, we focus on regular-level prospects who can debut in the first team and make an immediate impact."

Jonathan explained as he divided up the remaining areas for the scouts to take responsibility for.

"Unfortunately, it's not easy to find good players in North America or Asia. Africa has a lot of good players from Southern Europe or France who are discovered in their youth, so we approach it by bringing in the raw materials that they have refined first."

Two additional analysts were hired: one to support scouting and one to support the first team, bringing the scouting and performance analysis team to eight people under Jonathan's direction.

Surprisingly, Helena did not raise any objections to this.

"Cutting costs, employing fewer people, and not hiring at all and then things not working out are all different things. Hire people when you need them, but do it as efficiently as possible."

With Helena's approval, the scout team and performance analysis team were quickly set up, and the coaching staff to assist Hyungmin was also established.

First of all, as everyone expected, Arthur Brimlow reversed his retirement and officially took over as head coach of the first team to assist Hyungmin.

Given the club's financial situation and Hyungmin's own vision, it was decided to expand the coaching staff slowly rather than rapidly.

However, in order to deploy Hyungmin's pressure tactics, a fitness coach in charge of physical training was absolutely necessary.

Even though they had to post an advertisement because they were short on manpower, it wasn't easy to find a fitness coach who could lead the intense and systematic physical training that Hyungmin wanted.

Traditional strength training was nearly impossible to keep up with the demands of modern football, which included strength, speed, stamina, and the tight schedule of Premier League matches.

Hyungmin, who wanted to implement a customized program that included the game cycle, the individual's physical cycle, and even physical characteristics, eventually gave up on sourcing coaches internally and sent an SOS to Marc Lang of RB Salzburg.

Red Bull Football Group adamantly refused to lose coaches in addition to players but instead recommended several coaches to Hyungmin who were on their radar as interesting talents but not part of the group.

After a lengthy resume review and multiple video interviews, the one who was hired was Paulo Mourão, a fitness coach from Portugal.

Paulo Mourão, who had been working as a fitness coach at Vitoria in the Portuguese top division since 2011, moved to Benfica in the summer of 2015 along with coach Rui Vitoria. Together, they formed a top-four team in the Portuguese top division along with FC Porto, Sporting CP, and SC Braga.

After winning three league titles in four seasons with Benfica from 2015/16 to 2018/19, coach Rui Vitoria was sacked and joined Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.

However, the 40-year-old fitness coach was currently on hiatus after coach Rui Vitoria was sacked from Al Nassr.

Although it was a different league, Paulo had experience with the fitness of a team that won the Portuguese league three times in four seasons, so he brought a wealth of knowledge that even Hyungmin and Arthur lacked, regardless of their age.

The coaching staff, consisting of Hyungmin, Arthur, and Paulo Mourão, amounted to just three people, including the manager.

Considering it was the Premier League, the lineup was ridiculously sparse, but Hyungmin shook his head at Helena, who suggested additional reinforcements.

"We may be able to develop a larger coaching staff later, but for now, a small number of people who work well together are enough. The first team's players aren't that big anyway, so we don't need many people."

Even though there was no goalkeeper coach, having an experienced youth coach like Arthur had the advantage of being able to handle even the specialist position of goalkeeper coach to some extent.

After many twists and turns, Burnley Football Club finally succeeded in strengthening its management and coaching staff following the departure of ALK Capital and manager Sean Dyche.

Finally, with the appointment of a full-time manager, additional personnel, and reinforcement of the insufficient player squad, Burnley has completed its reorganization and is taking the first steps toward escaping its gloomy situation.

As the hectic A-match period for reorganization came to an end, four new first-team loanees arrived to coincide with the return of players who were called up to their national teams or went on vacation.