While the rest of the Premier League was still relying on scouts with weathered notebooks and air miles, Lin Feng was building a "Digital Panopticon." He didn't just want to find the next star; he wanted to own the pipeline before the players even had agents.
He poured £40 million of his personal tech fortune into a project codenamed "Project Oracle." ---
The Infrastructure: Satellite Academies
Lin Feng knew that in the original timeline, clubs like Brighton and Red Bull Salzburg became powerhouses by identifying talent in "undervalued" markets. He moved faster.
The South American Hub: He purchased a small, struggling club in the Uruguayan second division. It became a "finishing school." Instead of bringing 16-year-old Brazilians straight to the cold of Manchester—where they often failed to adapt—he moved them to Uruguay first. They played in a league that suited their style but were trained daily by coaches using Lin Feng's "Geometry" software.
The African Data Points: He funded "Grassroots Tech Centers" in Dakar, Senegal, and Lagos, Nigeria. These weren't just pitches; they were equipped with AI-tracking cameras.
The 2013 "Wonderkid" Heist
With his 2026 hindsight, Lin Feng sent his scouts—armed with specific "behavioral profiles"—to secure signatures that seemed like gambles to everyone else.
1. The Argentine "Spider"
In a dusty suburb of Córdoba, a 13-year-old named Julián Álvarez was playing for Atletico Calchin. Real Madrid had already invited him for a trial, but they were hesitant due to age-limit regulations.
Lin Feng didn't hesitate. He bypassed the trial. He met the family and offered a "Life-Path Contract": the family would be moved to Manchester, the father given a job in the City Group's logistics wing, and Julián would be the crown jewel of the new "Agüero-Successor" program.
2. The Moroccan Maestro
In the Netherlands, a skinny 20-year-old at Heerenveen was being called "too inconsistent." His name was Hakim Ziyech.
Lin Feng's data showed that Ziyech's "Expected Assists" (xA) were higher than any player in the Eredivisie, but his teammates were failing to finish the chances.
"He isn't inconsistent," Lin Feng told his board. "His teammates are just too slow to understand his vision." He bought him for a fraction of his future value and loaned him to a club in Spain to "toughen up" his defensive transition.
3. The "New" Kimmich
In the German third tier, at RB Leipzig (who were just starting their rise), was a 18-year-old Joshua Kimmich.
Lin Feng knew Kimmich was the ultimate "Inverted Fullback." He didn't wait for Bayern Munich to notice. He used a "Strategic Partnership" fee to bring Kimmich to Manchester, promising him he wouldn't just be a defender, but the "Quarterback" of the entire system.
The "Neural" Network
By December 2013, Lin Feng's "Oracle" system was processing data from over 50,000 players worldwide.
Every morning, Lin Feng would receive a "Delta Report." If a 15-year-old in Norway named Martin Ødegaard had a sudden spike in "Key Passes under Pressure," Lin Feng knew within an hour. If a young French winger named Kylian Mbappé broke a sprint record in a youth tournament, a "City Group" representative was on a plane to Bondy before the match was even over.
The Board's Concern
"You're spending more on teenagers than some clubs spend on their entire starting eleven," Ferran Soriano, the CEO, remarked during a budget review.
Lin Feng leaned back, spinning a pen. "Ferran, in five years, the market is going to explode. A player who costs £5 million today will cost £100 million in 2018. I'm not spending money; I'm 'shorting' the future inflation of the transfer market. By the time our rivals realize they need these players, we will already own them all."
The board fell silent. They realized Lin Feng wasn't just managing a football team; he was cornering the market on human potential.