15.7.12
Geoff Keeling knew that he had to make some signings, but he didn't want to make them just for the sake of it. He had spent a great deal of time looking through scout reports. He had an ideal type of player in mind,
"Can play Attacking Midfield, Both of the wings and at Striker, has flair. Is young and shows signs of being a world beater."
He hadn't found any ideal candidates yet and he was getting frustrated. There were a few players on the radar but Geoff didn't think much of them. He was however tempted by Eden Hazard, a young Belgian who played for Lille. He looked fairly good but Geoff didn't think the £35m price tag was correct. If he was going to spend that much money on a youngster they would have to be unbelievably good. He had sent out a message to all his scouts instructing them to look for this "Ideal Player". Unfortunately this was yet to make much of a difference. That was until now.
Liam Brady, came bursting into Geoff Keeling's room with excitement spread across his face. He took a deep breath and said,
"Geoff, I think I've found the player we're looking for. He's a Brazilian who plays for Santos. He ticks all the boxes, He's 20 and he's already tearing the league apart. He can play Upfront, on the left and in at attacking mid. Pele is a huge fan of him. He thinks this lad will be better than Messi. He's called Neymar."
"I see," replied Geoff Keeling " I want to see him for myself. Let me just check when Santos' next game is... Ah right, their next game is on the 18th, I'm going to book a flight and I'm going to watch him play. It's home. Do you want to come Liam?"
"Sure! I would really love to watch this lad play. If he's as good as everyone says he is we should sign him whatever the price."
16.7.12
The next day the two men got a taxi to Heathrow airport. They were taking a flight to Sao Paulo.
When they landed Geoff Keeling and Liam Brady made their way through the airport security. They both hated hanging around so they quickly made their way to the car that had been booked. The driver seemed like a nice enough guy. Near to the end of the journey he said,
"Are you hear for Neymar?", Geoff Keeling replied " Well we are interested in him, but we are not certain if we will make a bid."
"Oh really," The driver responded, " You should sign him. I think he will better the Pele. I have seen both of them play many times and Neymar just looks more nimble and more clean cut and precise than Pele."
"I see, if you hold him in such high regard why do you think we should sign him. Surely you want him to stay at Santos?"
"I do but I'm not stupid. I realised a long time ago that he would leave. I love Neymar, but for his sake he should leave. Our league as much as it is entertaining it is not what it used to be. The top players have to play in Europe and I know that. I like Arsenal, the way you play, the way you behave. It is just the right way. Your club is special. I don't want him going to some disgraceful team were he will be encouraged to dive and all that stuff. Some fans will think he will never leave, but they are stupid. We have other good players, but they will probably leave as well. Have you heard of Ganso? He is good. You should buy him if you didn't have so many midfielders.
"Thank you my friend, and If he is as good as you say he is I think we may make a bid. Thank you for the ride hear. It is much appreciated."
They had reached the end of the journey and were relishing watching Neymar. Hopefully he would be as good as the driver had said
