Manchester United was in turmoil.
Was the team actually about to blow up?
After the home defeat to Liverpool, the papers had claimed everything at United was fine, that the players still stood behind David Moyes.
Lies.
A journalist’s pen was a lying devil.
Moyes stared at Patrice Evra.
Evra stared back, expressionless.
The air in the field was heavy.
Tomás felt sweat prickle at his hairline.
He had never seen anything like this.
There had been conflicts in the academy, but those were always between players.
The academy coaches were treated with respect.
Wait.
Rashford, what are you doing?
Rashford’s eyes were wide, but his face had darkened.
Even if you don’t like Moyes, do not follow Evra’s lead and pick a fight with the manager.
This is not the move.
Tomás secretly tugged at the back of Rashford’s shorts, trying to ground him.
Moyes told Evra to cross the ball more.
Fine.
So he crosses the ball more.
So why the massive reaction?
Why escalate immediately?
Was Moyes about to make an example of Evra to maintain his authority?
Tomás snuck a glance at his daily missions.
Ding!
Daily Quest Released: Complete 10 successful crosses today.
Reward: [Passing] experience +50.
The system had seen this coming.
Tomás watched the tight lines around Moyes’s mouth.
The manager was on the verge of erupting.
Evra didn’t flinch.
He kept his chin up, staring straight back.
The rest of United’s stars shifted their weight, watching closely.
David Moyes, the Manchester United manager about to lose his temper, has a 20% favorability rating toward you.
Patrice Evra, a seasoned superstar, is making a tentative advance against Manchester United manager David Moyes.
His favorability rating toward you is 0.
Rio Ferdinand, an experienced superstar, hopes Evra will challenge Moyes’s authority.
His favorability rating toward you is 0.
Nemanja Vidic, an experienced superstar, is highly anticipating…
Robin van Persie, a seasoned superstar, is highly anticipating…
…
Ryan Giggs, a superstar past his prime, is deeply worried about the team and full of expectation…
Shinji Kagawa, a hugely talented player, is deeply worried about the team, feels lost about his own future, and yet still looks forward to…
Tomás swallowed hard.
Moyes, Manchester United’s manager, are being surrounded by traitors.
Outside of Wayne Rooney and a handful of others like Marouane Fellaini, everyone was hoping Evra would crack Moyes’s authority and send the team spiraling.
The team was one spark away from exploding.
Could this be the spark?
Rashford, don’t tell me you’re hoping for this too!
Tomás yanked harder on Rashford’s shorts.
At the same time, a knot formed in his stomach for Moyes, the manager who had just promoted him.
The silence stretched.
Assistant coach Steve Round jogged into the field.
“David, Tomás and Marcus are here. Warm up first, or straight into training?”
Every eye snapped to Tomás and Rashford.
The tension broke instantly. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
A few players let out quiet exhales of disappointment.
“Warm-ups first,” Moyes said, his shoulders dropping slightly.
He forced a smile and turned toward the boys.
“Tomás Eusébio Ferreira, Marcus Rashford, welcome to Manchester United’s first team.”
Moyes began to clap.
Round clapped next.
Rooney, Fellaini, Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Danny Welbeck, and Adnan Januzaj joined in.
The applause was thin.
Then Ryan Giggs joined in.
“Ryan, what are you doing?” someone muttered.
“These two kids are the future Sir Alex believed in,” Giggs replied quietly.
Sir Alex?
They were one of their own.
Pure Manchester United Blood.
Ferdinand, Vidic, Van Persie, Evra, and Kagawa joined the applause.
The factions, seconds away from a fight, found common ground.
United’s collapsing team had been rescued by Steve Round using two teenagers.
“Steve, run Tomás and Marcus through warm-ups. Get a data read on them while you’re at it,” Moyes said.
“Tomás, Marcus, this is Steve Round. My most important assistant, and the best data analyst in the Premier League. He’s going to be your best friend.”
The military delivery made Rashford frown.
Tomás nodded.
“Sir, we’ll follow Mr. Round’s guidance, integrate with the first team, and contribute however we’re needed.”
Moyes’s tight smile relaxed into something more genuine.
Tomás was a Carrington academy product through and through, but his style offered something completely different from Rashford’s explosive pace.
His game was distinctly Portuguese.
In Moyes’s experience, players from Portugal possessed a rare, invaluable blend of technical elegance and fierce tactical discipline.
United’s recent history had been heavily shaped by Portuguese stars, and Moyes himself had always admired their relentless work ethic.
If anything, Tomás’s heritage wasn’t just a comfort—it was a massive point in his favor.
“Let’s get the body warmed up first,” Round said.
“Eight minutes of aerobic work.”
Ding!
Manchester United assistant coach Steve Round has issued you the mission: ‘Jogging and Dynamic Movement.’ Reward: [Endurance] experience +50.
Accept?
“Tomás, Marcus, any problem?” Round asked.
Rashford barely reacted.
He wanted to get straight into training.
“No problem, Mr. Round,” Tomás answered quickly.
Free attribute experience.
The first team rewards were generous.
He didn’t want to leave this environment.
The aerobic warm-up included jogging, high knees, heel kicks, side shuffles, cross steps, and backward running.
As the league’s top data analyst, Round wasn’t going to let them casually warm up without gathering data.
He needed to track their physical condition.
Tomás’s physical talent is average, but his attitude is serious, his form is textbook, his personality is meticulous.
Marcus possesses elite physical tools, but his work rate drops off, his tactical discipline is raw, and his focus on the pitch can be erratic.
Eight minutes went by fast.
Round clapped his hands as the first phase ended.
Tomás felt warm, a light sweat breaking across his forehead.
Ding!
Manchester United assistant coach Steve Round is very satisfied with your training.
Reward: [Endurance] experience +50, favorability +1.
Tomás smiled.
“Next, dynamic stretching. Seven minutes this time,” Round said.
Ding!
Manchester United assistant coach Steve Round has issued you the mission: ‘Dynamic Stretching.’ Mission complete.
Reward: [Strength] experience +25, [Jump] experience +25.
Accept?
Accept.
Fifty points total.
Dynamic stretching mimicked match movement to get the joints active. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Leg swings, walking lunges, Spider-Man crawls, high-knee walks, straight-leg walks, torso rotations.
Tomás stayed focused, executing each movement carefully.
Rashford kept glancing over at the first-team stars.
“Bro, did we come all the way to the first team just to do warm-ups? U16 lads do this stuff.”
A normal warm-up shouldn’t take this long.
“Seriously, Marcus,” Tomás muttered, lowering his stance.
There weren’t rewards like this in the U16s.
Rashford didn’t need them.
Tomás did.
Tomás locked in.
Round watched him and nodded.
Rashford stayed listless.
Round shook his head slightly.
He had been right to keep Rashford out of the first team six months ago.
It had nothing to do with ability.
Rashford just didn’t have the mentality for first-team football yet.
Rooney had been mature at sixteen.
At seventeen, Tomás was mature enough to handle real challenges.
Sixteen-year-old Rashford was still too young.
Ding!
Congratulations on completing Steve Round’s mission: ‘Dynamic Stretching.’ Steve Round is very satisfied.
Reward: [Strength] experience +25, [Jump] experience +25, favorability +1.
“Next, five minutes to wake the muscles up,” Round called out.
Ding!
Manchester United assistant coach Steve Round has issued you the mission: ‘Neural Activation and Enhancement Training.’ Completing it grants [Speed] experience +50.
Accept?
Accept.
Neural activation and plyometric work sharpened explosive power.
The program included short sprints, jump work, and change-of-direction drills.
Five minutes later, Tomás’s training kit stuck to his back.
He was soaked.
It showed exactly how hard he had pushed.
Rashford barely had a sheen of sweat on his face.
Ding!
Congratulations on completing Steve Round’s mission: ‘Neural Activation and Enhancement Training.’ Steve Round is very satisfied.
Reward: [Speed] experience +50, favorability +1.
“Very good,” Round said.
“Tomás, Marcus, warm-up is done. Marcus, you can train with the first team now.”
“Yes!” Rashford answered immediately, sprinting off toward the main group.
Tomás watched him go, confused.
He still had ten crosses left on his daily mission, and he couldn’t practice crossing alone.
“Tomás, perfect timing. Michael just finished his warm-up too. Go warm up together with the ball,” Round said.
Michael?
Tomás turned his head.
Michael Carrick.
United’s mastermind.
The quiet genius who ran the midfield.
Watching Rashford fold into United’s core group, Moyes frowned.
Then he looked over at Tomás and Carrick, feeling a mix of hope and worry.
Every match was life or death now.
He needed to save his job.
He was pairing Carrick in a double pivot for the Champions League match.
Fellaini and Mata couldn’t help him there.
And the near-explosion in the locker room told him he couldn’t trust Giggs in the starting lineup either.
Think you two can train together?
Moyes wondered.