Footbal: Arsenal - Chapter 67: Kieran's Market Value Is Through the Roof. Some Clubs Think He's a Bargain! (Patreon)

What was Kieran supposed to say?

Could he really refuse when everyone was so determined to let him rest?

“All right, then. I'll cheer you on from the bench.”

Wenger smiled with relief. Then he beckoned. “Come here, Kieran. There's something I want to discuss with you.”

Kieran rose and joined him near the front. Once he'd sat down, the bus pulled away.

Wenger lowered his voice. “It's time you hired a professional agent. I've put together a shortlist, but if there's anyone you'd rather speak to, tell me and I'll arrange it.”

“The club wants to renegotiate your professional contract and salary. A good agent can do a great deal for you. Take your time, meet several people, and don't feel you have to settle on someone immediately.”

Kieran could afford to wait.

Unless a footballer was desperate to start collecting a higher weekly wage, making the club wait was usually better for the player.

And right now Arsenal were the ones in a hurry.

According to the latest valuations published by Germany's Transfermarkt, Kieran was already worth an astonishing €140 million.

That put him at the very top of its market-value rankings.

This was 2013.

Before Kieran's arrival, the most valuable player in the world had been Barcelona's Lionel Messi, at €120 million.

Messi was twenty-six and had won the Ballon d'Or four years running. He was in his prime, capable of delivering performances at an almost absurd level.

Second was Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, valued at €100 million. At twenty-eight, with one Ballon d'Or to his name, he too had reached the peak of his playing powers.

Third, fourth, and fifth came Tottenham's Gareth Bale at €80 million, Barcelona's Andrés Iniesta at €70 million, and Manchester United's Wayne Rooney at €65 million.

Transfermarkt's assessments considered a player's performances, age, potential, and immediate usefulness, among other factors.

In general, youth pushed a valuation upward. A younger player offered more room to develop, more years of service, and more potential resale value.

Kieran was only sixteen. A club that signed him and developed him well might be acquiring the heart of its team for the next decade or more. Even if it eventually chose to sell him, his age would leave plenty of room for a profitable transfer.

And unlike most prodigies his age, Kieran was already devastatingly effective at the highest level.

After only a handful of matches, his immediate impact was impossible to ignore.

He could adapt to different opponents, systems, and lineups. His individual ability suggested that he could walk into almost any club and quickly become essential to the team.

That only pushed his valuation higher.

Then there was his status as an English homegrown player. Combined with the label of sixteen-year-old genius, it gave him two enormous advantages on the transfer market.

Premier League squad-registration rules required a certain number of homegrown players. That scarcity meant a comparable player who qualified as homegrown could command a far higher price than an overseas signing.

All of those factors had sent Kieran's estimated value into another world. By the numbers alone, he was already football's hottest property.

No one had seen a case quite like his. A number of clubs were edging toward a full-blown bidding panic.

If Kieran ever became available, the biggest teams would race to outbid one another, terrified that a rival might get him first.

At first, Arsenal's executives had been delighted by the prospect.

An estimated value of €140 million might translate into an actual fee of more than €200 million once the wealthy clubs started bidding. Nobody could guess how high the figure might climb.

Such a sale could wipe out Arsenal's debts in one stroke and leave the club enjoying unprecedented profits. It was a tempting thought.

Then they saw the furious reaction of Arsenal supporters online. The sheer volume of protests left the executives speechless.

And the supporters weren't merely posting messages. Their determination was plain to see outside the club as well. The idea of selling Kieran vanished from the boardroom almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Besides, his commercial potential was becoming so obvious that the more farsighted executives had already marked him as untouchable.

Now their real problem was finding a way to sign him to a new contract with an enormous release clause.

They could certainly offer him one. But Kieran didn't have an agent, and the club couldn't simply negotiate the whole thing directly with him. The process had been delayed again and again.

He couldn't put off choosing forever, either.

A new deal would reassure the club and its supporters, allowing the squad to focus together on its goals.

“Professor,” Kieran asked, “I trust you. Is there anyone you'd recommend?”

Wenger thought for a while. “And I have complete faith in you, son. I know you'll achieve great things. That's why you should look for someone experienced and well established, with a reputation that can spare you unnecessary trouble.”

“That narrows the field considerably. And if you exclude agents who won't make you their top priority, the shortlist becomes smaller still.”

Wenger slipped an arm around Kieran's shoulders.

“But I won't make a decision this important for you. I watched you grow up, and I know both your character and your ability. Trust your own judgment.”

“Even if you choose badly, don't be afraid. Plenty of people are standing behind you. I'm one of them, and I'll do everything I can to help.”

Kieran felt the warmth of Wenger's broad hand on his shoulder.

He saw the unmistakable affection in the manager's eyes.

In his previous life, he'd never known a father's love. For the first time, he felt he might understand what it was like.

He pressed his lips together, unusually quiet. After a moment he nodded and smiled.

“Okay, Professor. Don't worry. I'll find a good agent.”

He was optimistic. Surely, in his current position, finding one decent agent couldn't be that difficult.

Over the next few days, he discovered just how wrong that assumption was.

The problem wasn't a shortage of agents. It was that there were far too many of them!

Even after narrowing his requirements considerably, Kieran still found himself inundated. Until now, many agents had struggled to contact him at all. As soon as word spread that he was looking for representation, his work phone practically exploded with calls.

Wayne Rooney heard the news and volunteered to share some advice from his own experience.

Kieran happily accepted the offer.

With the address Rooney had sent him, he set out to visit his friend's house.

He had barely stepped through the club gates, however, when a rather heavyset middle-aged man stopped him.