Zayn understood what Cowans meant.
The mention of the U18s meant that his professional contract was all but settled.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Cowans raised a hand to stop him.
The old man looked past Zayn’s shoulder.
Zayn turned around.
Youth development manager Ben Ashby was walking over from the touchline.
In fact, Ashby had already spoken to Cowans after Zayn scored his second goal and agreed that they could sign him.
It was not because Zayn’s second-half performance had completely won him over.
The cardinal mistake in academy recruitment was judging a player on a single match.
A boy scoring twice in forty-five minutes was impressive.
Those two goals might mean he had some talent.
They might mean he was simply in excellent form that day.
Or perhaps the opposing center-back just happened to struggle against his type of player.
But they revealed nothing about how far the boy might develop over the next two, three, or five years.
Football was full of players who shone at U16 level only to fade into obscurity by the U18s.
There were also plenty of unusual cases who went unnoticed at U16 level before suddenly coming into their own with the U23s.
From a purely professional standpoint, Ashby still had reservations about Zayn Ryder.
Even so, he had decided to sign him.
Ashby had already weighed everything up.
Cowans was the one who had recommended Zayn.
By doing the club legend a favor and offering the contract, Ashby had nothing to lose.
If Zayn succeeded, Ashby had shown good judgment by listening to sound advice.
If he failed, Cowans had strongly recommended him, and Ashby had merely respected the judgment of a senior figure.
Either way, Ashby came out ahead.
A few days earlier, when Zayn had been playing terribly, there had been no possible justification for signing him.
Those forty-five minutes today had given Ashby exactly what he needed.
Ashby stopped in front of Zayn and gave him a professional smile.
“Zayn, ask your parents to come to the training ground this afternoon.
We’ll sign the contract.”
The match had taken place that morning, and it was only just past noon.
Zayn froze for a moment.
He had not expected the offer to come so quickly, but he soon nodded.
“Of course, Mr.
Ashby.
I’ll call my mom.”
…
At two o’clock that afternoon, George Ryder sat across from Ashby in an office at Bodymoor Heath.
George, Zayn’s father in this life, was a solidly built man in his early forties.
He had broad palms and rough knuckles, the unmistakable marks of someone who had spent years working with tools.
He wore a faded checked shirt, and his hair had been combed neatly.
He had clearly made a special effort for the signing, though a few tiny metal shavings still clung to him.
Anna had intended to come as well, but work at the accounting firm had held her up at the last minute, leaving George to represent them both.
Under English law, minors did not have full legal capacity to enter into contracts.
A parent’s signature therefore served as a form of guarantee.
It was a procedural safeguard intended to prevent agents or clubs from tying underage players to unfair long-term agreements.
“Mr.
Ryder, your son has spent seven years in Villa’s academy.
Gordon and I both agree that he deserves a professional contract.”
George turned and slapped Zayn firmly on the shoulder, hard enough to make him lurch forward.
“I knew it!
I knew you could do it!”
Ashby opened the contract and slid it in front of George and Zayn.
“Mr.
Ryder, please read through it first.
It’s a two-year contract worth £400 a week.”
“The terms are standard,” Ashby continued.
“Training allowances, match bonuses, and equipment sponsorship are detailed in the appendix.
Villa will have priority when the contract expires, and if another club makes an offer during the term, Villa will have the right to match it.”
For a Championship club like Aston Villa, this was the standard starting wage for a new member of the U18 squad.
“Mr.
Ryder, you need to sign here.
Zayn, you sign here.”
George picked up the pen before he had even finished reading the contract and signed his name.
His handwriting was crooked, but every stroke was pressed firmly into the paper.
For a middle-aged man who spent every day working long hours in a factory, this contract meant that his son would not have to follow the same path.
He handed the pen to Zayn.
Zayn took it and looked down at the signature line at the bottom of the contract.
Zayn Ryder.
Three days ago, the name had felt no more real to him than a gaming username.
Once he signed it, however, he would become a professional footballer.
The regrets and compromises of his previous life would finally be left behind.
Ashby collected the contract, stood, and shook George’s hand before turning to Zayn.
“Welcome to Aston Villa as a professional player.
Starting tomorrow, you’ll join the U18 squad and report to Coach David Hughes.
Training begins at nine in the morning.
Don’t be late.”
Zayn shook Ashby’s hand and nodded.
In England’s academy system, the stages below and above U16 level were completely different.
Under the Elite Player Performance Plan, players entered the Professional Development Phase at seventeen.
The official competitive teams at that stage were the U18 and U23 squads.
It was not until the 2020-21 season that the Premier League introduced an official U17 League Cup and filled the gap.
Therefore, Zayn moving directly from the U16s to the U18s was not special treatment.
Every player who signed a professional contract at that age followed the same path.
Of course, very few academy players ever earned such a contract.
As many as 1.5 million young players took part in youth football across England, but of the boys who entered academy systems at nine, more than three-quarters were released between the ages of thirteen and sixteen.
Only 180 eventually became professional Premier League players, a success rate of just 0.012%.
As they left the office, George put a hand on Zayn’s shoulder and gave it another firm pat. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
Zayn smiled without saying anything.
A contract worth £400 a week was only the beginning.
…
That evening, there was a roast turkey on the Ryder family’s dinner table.
For once, Lucy kept her sharp tongue to herself.
She focused on eating her turkey leg, occasionally glancing up at her brother as though she had something to say.
Her eyes were sparkling.
After holding it in for some time, she finally blurted out, “You’re amazing, Zayn.”
Zayn paused, then smiled.
“Of course I am.” He reached over and ruffled Lucy’s hair.
Lucy blushed and lowered her voice.
“Dad said you’re earning £400 a week now.
When you start making more, could you give me some of it…?”
“So that was your real reason!”
As Zayn teased her, he passed the turkey leg from his plate to Biscuit, who had been staring at it hungrily from beside his feet.
He simply could not stand the turkey’s dry, tough texture.
It was neither tender nor juicy, and chewing it felt like gnawing on wood shavings.
Biscuit excitedly circled Zayn, his tail sweeping back and forth across the floor.
As dinner drew to a close, George set down his knife and fork and wiped his mouth.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.
The first team are away to Birmingham City in the Second City derby.
We’re going to watch.”
Anna looked at him.
The tickets were not cheap, and George had originally been scheduled to work overtime the next day to finish an urgent order.
Still, this was a celebration.
She allowed it.
…
After dinner, Zayn returned to his small bedroom and closed the door.
[Main Quest 1: Starting Point]
[Objective: Sign your first professional contract.]
[Status: Completed]
A small cluster of golden particles burst from the centre of the light screen.
The glowing specks swirled like fragments of gold scattered by the wind before pouring into his chest.
It felt similar to when the Torres template had merged with his body, but lighter and much shorter.
[Quest rewards being calculated…]
[Realization Rate increased by 5%]
[Current Realization Rate: 15%]
[Drawing random Trait…]
The text on the screen scrolled rapidly for several seconds before stopping on a new entry.
[Trait: Super Sub]
[Effect: When entering a match as a substitute, all attributes receive a slight boost.]
The corner of Zayn’s mouth twitched.
The Trait was actually quite useful at his current stage.
But still…
“You’re supposed to be a cheat system, and all you give me is a substitute Trait?”