Just as Lin Dong was on his way to Leicester City with Wei Shi Hao, Wu San Shi posted a surprising picture on his Weibo.
The picture showed Lin Dong, Wu San Shi, and Wei Shi Hao, with their three hands clasped tightly together. Years later, when people looked back at this photo, they couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.
More than just a picture, Wu San Shi also accompanied it with a heartfelt message, expressing his gratitude to all his supporters. He described the joy he found in an exciting game, but acknowledged that the team's victory was not solely his own. He thanked his teammates for their trust.
In this message, Wu San Shi specifically mentioned the "friend" standing next to him, Wei Shi Hao.
The young player was about to go on trial with Leicester City, a club in the English Championship. Wu San Shi saw great potential in him and believed he had a good chance of success.
This news caused a small stir on Weibo, with some people starting to follow Wei Shi Hao's account. They discovered that the young player was only 18 years old!
For an 18-year-old to be trying out for Leicester City in the English Championship was undoubtedly a huge challenge.
The English Championship was known for its intense competition, even surpassing the Chinese Super League.
However, Wu San Shi had immense confidence in Wei Shi Hao's abilities, and this ignited a wave of anticipation among Wu San Shi's fans for the young player.
Meanwhile, Xiao Fan also posted at this very moment.
Since he began posting frequently, his vanity had been greatly satisfied.
At the time of Wei Shi Hao's trial with Leicester City, he published an eye-catching post mentioning Wei Shi Hao. He first congratulated Wang Chu for his outstanding performance in the second round of the English Championship, where he had delivered two assists and scored two goals.
Thanks to Wang Chu's brilliant performance, Leicester City had won the match 2-0. Xiao Fan also included a video of Wang Chu during the game.
In the video, the entire Leicester City crowd erupted in cheers as Wang Chu entered the field.
Within the Leicester City fanbase, it was widely believed that Wang Chu was destined to become the future core of their midfield.
Some fans even predicted that Wang Chu's future would be as King of Leicester.
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the fans, Xiao Fan shared gifs of Wang Chu's assists and other highlights from the game.
Within just two hours, this post garnered over 200,000 views, and with time, it would undoubtedly reach 500,000 or even more.
Finally, Xiao Fan added a few lines at the end of the post.
"According to insider information, a new Chinese player is about to go on trial with Leicester City, and there is a strong chance he will join the club."
"I understand this young player is a forward, and his agent is the same as Wang Chu's. Moreover, his agent has great faith in this young talent."
These two sentences at the end of Xiao Fan's post prompted many fans to visit Wei Shi Hao's Weibo account.
Lin Dong also noticed that as Wei Shi Hao's exposure increased, the number of followers on his Weibo account was steadily growing.
Behind all of this was Lin Dong's meticulous planning and execution.
He not only secured more attention for Wei Shi Hao but also elevated his standing within Chinese football.
While Wei Shi Hao's identity didn't require Lin Dong to hype him up, gaining more followers would undoubtedly lead to more opportunities for endorsement deals in the future, as these were real money.
Furthermore, the summer transfer window was still open, and if the trial went well, Wei Shi Hao might even get a chance to play for the Leicester City first team.
With Wang Chu paving the way, Wei Shi Hao's future path would be smoother.
At the starting line, Wei Shi Hao had undoubtedly surpassed Wang Chu's initial position.
Although his current exposure wasn't particularly high, at least he was receiving more attention than Wang Chu had at the beginning.
Soon, Lin Dong and Wei Shi Hao arrived at the Leicester City first team's training ground.
Unlike Wang Chu's previous trial, Wei Shi Hao would be directly assessed by the head coach, Pearson.
In contrast to Wang Chu's trial, Wei Shi Hao's progress was quite smooth.
During this intra-squad training session, everyone quickly learned that this Chinese youngster was only 18 years old, yet had already reached the threshold of the first team.
Although there was already one Chinese player on the first team, everyone treated Wei Shi Hao with respect and curiosity. After all, to make it to the professional leagues at such a young age, Wei Shi Hao must have possessed exceptional talent.
The head coach was even more curious about Wei Shi Hao. He had seen the potential in Chinese players through Wang Chu.
When he learned that a Chinese player was coming in for trials, he naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.
Leicester City Chairman Vichai's notification sparked a strong interest in Wei Shi Hao, a fellow countryman of Wang Chu.
Therefore, the head coach immediately decided to assess Wei Shi Hao himself, observing the Chinese player named Wei Shi Hao closely.
During the intra-squad training match, Pearson arranged for Wei Shi Hao and Wang Chu to be on the same team, to better allow Wei Shi Hao to showcase his abilities.
As a midfielder, Wang Chu's passing attribute was maxed out, so placing him on the same team as Wei Shi Hao would provide accurate passes for his teammate.
As the match progressed, Wang Chu's performance clearly outshone Wei Shi Hao's, but that didn't mean Wei Shi Hao was doing poorly.
He still displayed his 90-point speed and 70-point dribbling abilities, causing the second team's defense to suffer.
Every time he received a pass from Wang Chu, Wei Shi Hao charged forward like an arrow released from a bow, attacking the opponent's defense.
Even facing tight defensive marking, he could still use his 70-point dribbling to get past defenders one by one.
The head coach watched Wei Shi Hao's performance intently, recognizing his abilities surpassed those of other players.
He started to entertain the idea of signing Wei Shi Hao.
However, Wei Shi Hao's performance wasn't flawless.
When utilizing his speed to break through to the byline, his crossing accuracy was subpar. The landing position of his passes was practically random, beyond his complete control.
The same was true for his shooting. Despite his exceptional abilities to get into scoring positions, that pesky football just wouldn't find its way into the net.
After one training match, he managed to score a goal and provide an assist, but he wasted even more opportunities throughout the game.
In the end, his team won 5-0.
Although Wei Shi Hao achieved some success in the match, his inability to seize chances and create opportunities for teammates were his two biggest weaknesses.
Lin Dong wasn't entirely satisfied with Wei Shi Hao's performance, but he understood that his struggles in the game were perfectly normal, considering his passing and shooting attributes were only a paltry 53 points.
Compared to Wang Chu's personality, Wei Shi Hao was more extroverted and active. Despite the language barrier, he communicated with his teammates in simple English.
He could even converse back and forth, putting Lin Dong's mind slightly at ease.
While Wei Shi Hao's passing and shooting didn't stand out, Pearson couldn't help but smile in satisfaction as he looked at him.
After all, Wei Shi Hao was young, only 18 years old, with plenty of time to improve his shooting and passing skills.
Moreover, his speed was a crucial asset to Leicester City. Their forward line needed players like Wei Shi Hao with his speed to break down defenses.