The derby match took a heavy toll on Luton.
Kevin Keane was suspended for one match due to accumulating two yellow cards, so he would be unable to play in the next league game.
The next match was on January 16th, and there was a two-week international break in January.
League One also made way for the international break. Compared to last season, Luton had quite a few more international players this season.
Vardy was directly called up to the England squad by Capello! This made the young man quite excited, as 2010 was a World Cup year. This time, the main players in the England squad were some fringe players, but that was enough to make Vardy happy. It meant that he had entered the national team coaching staff's radar, and if he continued to perform brilliantly, he might even make it into the England squad for the 2010 South Africa World Cup as a League One player!
Besides Vardy, Adam White was called up to the England U19 national youth team. This U19 squad was being prepared for the 2011 World Youth Championship, so Adam White was also very likely to become a player for the England youth team in the 2011 World Youth Championship.
In addition to these two players, Griezmann and Kante were also called up by the French U19 team.
With several key players going to the national team, Luton's training ground seemed much quieter.
Gao Bo called up the youth team players to train with the first team at their training ground. On one hand, he wanted the youth team to experience the intensity of the first team, and on the other hand, he also took the opportunity to scout the youth team players.
Li Yuanshan was also on the list of players called up to train with the first team.
He was only sixteen years old, but he already looked no different from those eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth team members. He was very strong physically, which even made him stand out among the youth team members.
At this moment, a 7-on-7 scrimmage was taking place on the field.
After receiving a pass from the wing, Li Yuanshan actually scored a header over Jeffrey's head.
This goal obviously made his temporary teammates very happy. Kevin Keane, who provided the assist, ran over and ruffled Li Yuanshan's hair.
"Well done, Li!"
"Jeffrey... you got owned!!"
"Nonsense, I was just careless!!" Jeffrey quickly denied.
The players on the training ground burst into laughter, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
"Is he the Chinese Drogba?"
As the players trained on the field, John stood next to Gao Bo and asked with interest. John had also heard that there was a young player from China in the youth team who had remarkably strong physical qualities.
"It's a pity he can't play for the youth team," Gao Bo shook his head regretfully. The work permit was indeed a major restriction. Alex Sandro could apply for a special talent clause or get a Portuguese passport.
However, neither of these methods was an option for Li Yuanshan, because on one hand, he was Chinese, and China's football level was what it was, so it was basically impossible for him to apply for a special talent clause unless he had proven himself in other European leagues.
"What he needs is matches, so I've already decided to loan him out," Gao Bo said.
After a period of intensive training, Li Yuanshan's basic skills improved even faster than Gao Bo had imagined. It seemed this kid was indeed a genius.
From the training situation, Li Yuanshan was also becoming less and less reliant on his physique. His receiving, passing, and positioning all looked decent; at least he looked like a professionally trained youth team player now.
What he lacked now was experience in professional teams, and in England, Li Yuanshan didn't have such an opportunity.
At sixteen, some talented players were already making their mark in professional football.
For example, Arsenal's Fabregas and Wilshere.
Fabregas played in a match between Arsenal and Rotherham United when he was sixteen years and one hundred and seventy-seven days old.
He was the youngest player to appear in Arsenal's history.
Wilshere also started getting chances to play in the Premier League before he was seventeen.
As for Li Qingshan, with his physique, he should have already gained experience in professional matches long ago.
"That's how it should be!" John nodded. Li Yuanshan had no opportunities for official matches in England because he didn't have a work permit and couldn't participate in official games. If it was just friendly matches, the intensity was different from official matches.
Moreover, judging from Li Yuanshan's displayed abilities, what he lacked most was match experience!
In Europe's youth training system, training only accounts for a part, and a larger part is matches.
No matter how excellent one performs in training, if it cannot be demonstrated in matches, everything amounts to nothing.
In Europe, a young player plays over fifty official matches a year, almost averaging a match every week.
Taking England as an example, although England's league system is somewhat chaotic, in terms of youth team matches, England is well organized.
The U-series leagues have referees and match supervisors dispatched by the FA, and a home-and-away round-robin points system. In addition to the league, there are also youth team cup competitions like the Youth FA Cup. This ensures that youth players in every team do not have to worry about not having enough matches to play.
In contrast, the biggest gap domestically is not in training—training is the easiest to learn. Recruiting a few European youth coaches and building a well-equipped youth academy is actually not difficult; the difficulty lies in the organization of competitions.
Unlike the youth league system in England, China's youth league is a tournament system, similar to competitions like the World Cup—a bunch of teams gather in one place for a month-long tournament-style knockout competition. After the competition, everyone goes home, and this is the only month of competition opportunity in a year. Even this one month has experienced suspensions at times.
During the critical period from youth team to professional football, young players lack sufficient high-intensity match experience, and they are simply not ready to play professional matches.
However, youth team members of European clubs do not have this problem. Before they step onto the professional field, they play fifty or sixty official matches every year, including league games, cup games, and various youth team exchange matches. By the time they represent the first team in professional leagues, these players are already seasoned veterans.
Mendes easily found a team interested in loaning Li Yuanshan.
It was Aves from the Portuguese First Division, a team with intricate connections to Mendes. Gao Bo even felt that the behind-the-scenes owner of this team was this powerful agent who dominated European football.
But no matter what the team was like, Gao Bo's goal was simply to find an opportunity for Li Yuanshan to play matches.
After signing the loan contract, Li Yuanshan was loaned to this Portuguese team for two years.
Gao Bo sent Li Yuanshan to London Airport.
"How's your Portuguese coming along?"
"Basic communication is no problem."
Gao Bo nodded. To integrate into a team, one must overcome the language barrier.
"Remember, use your strengths well, but don't rely on them!" Gao Bo ruffled Li Yuanshan's head.
A sixteen-year-old boy, heading to Portugal alone. Perhaps most sixteen-year-olds at this time were in high school, under the care and protection of their parents.
However, if you want to achieve success, how can you do it without paying some price?
"If anything happens, remember to call me."
"Work hard when you get there, don't neglect your diet, you're still growing, but don't eat greasy food. Follow the diet plan the nutritionist gave you." Gao Bo seemed a bit verbose. Li Yuanshan nodded every time he said something.
"Go, it's time to board."
Gao Bo tidied Li Yuanshan's large backpack and then put the suitcase into his hand.
Li Yuanshan let go of the suitcase, stepped forward, and hugged Gao Bo.
"Thank you, boss..."
Gao Bo patted Li Yuanshan's head.
"What kind of ridiculous way to address me is that?!"
"They all call you that!!" Li Yuanshan said, a little aggrieved.
...
A sixteen-year-old boy, his future still needed to be forged by himself...