CHAPTER 192: LEAK (2) (SU)

He tapped his pen twice against the desk, eyes drifting to the framed photo on the shelf behind him — him with Guardiola, Soriano, and the Premier League trophy last year.

Now, the trophy for the season was gone, and even runner up was gone. The pressure was heavier. The transition period looming.

"If I’m leaving this summer..." he muttered quietly to himself, "...I need a legacy signing."

He leaned back in his chair.

The pen stopped tapping.

"And Lukas Brandt," he whispered, "is a signing a director is remembered for."

* * *

It was early evening, barely past six, and Frankfurt was wrapped in that soft, orange glow that made the skyline look gentler than it actually felt.

Lukas sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, phone in hand, staring at Javi’s contact name longer than necessary.

He took a breath.

Then he pressed "call."

The line rang twice before Javi answered, his voice warm and calm.

"Hey, Luke. Everything okay?"

Lukas swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah... um. I just wanted to talk about... the other day. About what you told me."

A short pause.

"Of course. What’s on your mind?"

Lukas stared at the floorboards, tracing the grain with his eyes.

"I’ve... decided," he said quietly. "I want to talk to her."

He heard Javi inhale on the other end — not loudly, not sharply, but slowly, like he had expected this answer but still wasn’t fully prepared for it.

"I see," Javi murmured. "And you’re sure?"

"No," Lukas admitted honestly. "But... I want answers. And I think I need them."

More silence.

Not the uncomfortable kind, but the kind where both sides are thinking of a thousand different things but speaking none of them.

Finally, Javi sighed, gentle and thoughtful.

"Okay," he said. "If that’s what you want... then we’ll do it."

Lukas nodded even though his father couldn’t see him.

"But, Lukas," Javi continued, "I’d advise we wait a bit. Not long. Maybe until summer break."

"Why?" Lukas asked softly.

"Because," Javi said, choosing his words with care, "your mind is... delicate right now. You’re balancing school, matches, a Europa League knockout stage, national team expectations, the whole world watching you."

He paused.

"And she... could say something that shakes you. Even unintentionally. And I don’t want anything interfering with your rhythm or your peace. Not now. Not when everything is moving so fast for you."

Lukas sat back, letting those words settle.

He hadn’t thought about it that way — how timing could change everything, how even the right decision made at the wrong time could be harmful.

He rubbed his forehead.

"...Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"So we wait until summer," Javi said gently. "When you have time. When you’re free. When you’re not exhausted, or stressed, or trying to carry a team through Europe."

"Okay," Lukas said again, this time with more certainty. "Summer."

"And whatever happens then," Javi added, "I’ll be right there beside you. Every step."

That did something warm to Lukas’s chest.

He smiled faintly.

"Thanks, Dad."

They exchanged a few more small words — nothing heavy, nothing emotional. Just enough to close the call gently.

"Take care of yourself, son," Javi finished. "Rest. And good luck with training and traveling tomorrow."

"Thanks, bye," Lukas replied, and the call ended.

He sat there for a moment, and the phone still in his hand buzzed twice in rapid succession.

An "X" notification.

He opened it to see what was going on...

David Ornstein:

"BREAKING: Manchester City have submitted an offer of €77m + €8m add-ons for Eintracht Frankfurt’s 16-year-old sensation, Lukas Brandt.

Deal currently under review. More to follow."

Fabrizio Romano:

🟦🔵 Manchester City submit official bid for German wonderkid Lukas Brandt — €77m fixed fee plus €8m in add-ons.

City pushing to anticipate competition — player considered a generational talent.

Eintracht expected to respond soon. ⏳

For a second, Lukas just stared.

His breath caught somewhere in his chest.

Then he opened Ornstein’s tweet.

The comments were already exploding — tens of thousands of them — coming in so fast the page froze twice while loading.

@EPLBanternomics: A 16-year-old in the Prem??

@BundesligaHub: The kid is insane, but THIS is insane.

@CityWatch: Pep sees what we see.

@UnitedFaithful89: Bro is a CHILD. The Prem will EAT him.

@germanfootballfangirl: I knew this was coming, but NOT THIS SOON.

@frankfurt4ever: HANDS OFF. HE’S OURS.

Before Lukas could scroll further, his phone rang.

Marco.

He sat up immediately and answered.

"Marco?"

"Lukas, hey. I’m guessing you’ve seen the news?"

"Just now," Lukas said. "It’s—"

He struggled for words. "...a lot."

Marco exhaled sharply on the other end.

"I just found out yesterday morning. Hardung called me into the office and handed me the document. The bid is real."

Lukas swallowed. "So City are actually... serious."

"Dead serious," Marco said. "But before I ask you anything — I need your honest answer. Do you want to play in the Premier League one day?"

Lukas didn’t hesitate. "...Of course I do. It’s the biggest league in the world."

"But?"

"But I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet," Lukas admitted quietly. "Maybe in a few years. Not right now. I’m still growing. Still learning. Still adapting. My body’s not even close to finished."

"That’s fair," Marco said, and Lukas could almost see him nodding. "It’s what I expected you to say."

A short silence.

Then Marco continued:

"Eintracht don’t plan to sell you this summer," he said. "And that matches your stance. They want you here. They want you in the Champions League with them next season. This bid doesn’t change that."

"Good," Lukas breathed. "I don’t want to leave this summer."

"I figured," Marco replied. "And listen — I’m going to use this interest from City in our contract negotiations. So don’t worry about the details. Let me handle that part."

Lukas nodded even though Marco couldn’t see him.

"Okay. Thanks, Marco."

"Rest," Marco said. "Focus on Bilbao. I’ll take care of the noise."

The call ended.

Lukas tossed his phone beside him... only for it to buzz again — repeatedly this time.

The Eintracht Frankfurt squad group chat was exploding.

Messages were flying up the screen so fast he had to scroll up to catch the beginning.

Larsson: BROOOOO 💀💀💀 CITY WANT YOU????

Uzun: €85M?? For a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD????

Knauff: @Lukas SAY SOMETHING BRO THIS IS CRAZY

Götze: You didn’t tell us you were worth more than some entire clubs

Koch: If you leave I’m retiring.

Skhiri: Tell Pep to increase his bid I want a boat.

Bahoya: Don’t forget me when you’re famous

Kristensen: He’s already famous you clown.

The chat devolved into memes, voice notes, jokes, fake goodbyes, sarcastic farewells, and screenshots of fans losing their minds online.

Yet through all the noise, through all the laughter...

...Lukas didn’t type a single word.

He just watched.

Read everything.

His chest rose slowly, fell slowly.

Because somewhere beneath the jokes, beneath the chaos, beneath the noise...

...a shared understanding lingered quietly:

One day, he would leave.

And maybe that day was closer than anyone ever expected.

Coach Dino: Hope you guys haven’t forgotten the flight to Bilbao is tomorrow morning? You all better go to bed.

Toppmöller’s message was the last thing Lukas read before putting his phone on DND and placing it by his side as he stared up at the ceiling, his mind imagining what it would be like to play in the biggest league in the world.

If he was dropped into a premier league side at the moment, would he be able to find the back of the net as often as he currently does for Frankfurt or is that too far a level for him right now?

"TT, let me see my status window," he said as the golden system window appeared in front of him.

[ PROFILE – LUKAS BRANDT – FOOTBALLER

DATE OF BIRTH: 30/12/2008 (16)

HEIGHT: 179 cm

WEIGHT: 63 kg

CAREER STATUS: EINTRACHT FRANKFURT FIRST TEAM

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER

CURRENT LIMIT: 85

RATING: 84 (↑2)

PLAYER STATS

ATTACK:

Off. Awareness: 84 (↑2)

Ball Control: 85 (↑4)

Dribbling: 85 (↑4)

Tight Possession: 84 (↑4)

Low Pass: 85 (↑3)

Lofted Pass: 84 (↑3)

Finishing: 85 (↑5)

Header: 82 (↑2)

Set-Piece: 85 (↑4)

Curl: 84 (↑3)

DEFENCE:

Def. Awareness: 76

Tackling: 74

Aggression: 71

Def. Engagement: 70

STRENGTH:

Speed: 85

Acceleration: 85 (↑1)

Kicking Power: 84 (↑1)

Jump: 83 (↑3)

Physical Contact: 83 (↑3)

Balance: 85 (↑5)

Stamina: 85 ]

"Wow, I have really come a long way. Thousands of hours of training is paying off. At the current rate, I’ll probably hit the current limit by the end of the month. Should I train my defensive skills? What do you think, TT?"

[*There’s a lot to do. You can acquire more skills, level up the skills you already have, practice matches and game analysis, don’t also forget you have to keep training unless you want your stats to start dropping.*]

"Of course I know all that... Damn... The training will never stop, will it?"

[*Not if you want to be at the top of your game for a very long time.*]

"Guess I should stop complaining then and go to sleep. I’ll meet you at the LTC first thing tomorrow morning."

Lukas closed his eyes and fell asleep, even away from the public eyes, his daily training never stopped, he never missed a single day of training at the LTC, this unbelievable dedication and consistency when no one is looking, is what gives him the ability to be unbelievably consistent on the pitch when the bright lights are on and everyone’s watching.