With maxed-out heading ability from the start, I became the king of Arsenal.

[Mission Reward: Unlocks the "Defense Break Points Reward" feature]

[Ability Preview: Your trash talk, taunts, and body language have a chance to cause your opponent to lose control of their emotions and reduce their competitive performance]

[Reward Description: Each time you inflict a psychological blow on your opponent, you will earn points. These points can be used to improve attributes or draw skills.]

Psychological blow?

Upon seeing the reward description, Sun Yu's lips unconsciously curled into a smile.

When it comes to trash talk, I've never lost.

In terms of physical attributes, I am top-tier even among professional players with exceptional physical abilities.

The defense-breaking points reward is practically a natural talent for me.

The system understands itself!

This time, we must succeed in joining Stoke City no matter what!

At lunchtime, Sun Yu and his agent Andrew Townsend entered the restaurant.

A middle-aged man with a meticulously styled haircut, a high nose, and wearing a casual suit stood up from his seat and waved to the two men.

After the three sat down, Sun Yu discovered that his agent and the scout named Jack Moore were old acquaintances.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Moore looked at Sun Yu and said, "Kid, don't think it's absurd that we invited you to a trial."

"The Stoke City center forward position is an insurmountable role for most players in the world, but it's not difficult for some, like you."

Sun Yu was completely at ease. While looking at the player panel, he said with a smile, "If you need players with outstanding physical talent and a knack for heading the ball."

"Congratulations on finding the right person. I definitely have the qualities you need."

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis's tactics can be described as the antithesis of Guardiola's.

He transformed Stoke City into a purely power-based team, and his tactics even made many Premier League teams struggle to adapt.

If Sun Yu has the opportunity to join a Premier League team, it can only be Stoke City.

Seeing how high this young man's spirits were despite adversity, Moore smiled and nodded: "Very good, I believe you are the person we need."

"We will be holding a three-day trial the day after tomorrow, and the trial format will be very different from other clubs."

"All we need are strongmen, thugs, and bastards."

"Your athleticism and heading ability perfectly match our needs; you just need to do what you can."

Moore, on behalf of Stoke City, also promised to reimburse all of Sun Yu's expenses during his trial period, demonstrating his sincerity.

The next day at noon, Sun Yu drove his third-hand Ford to Stoke City.

Stoke is barely considered a city in the UK, but in China it would only be a township-level administrative unit, comparable to Matou Town in Dongming County, Hangzhou.

Upon entering the city, most of the buildings that caught Sun Yu's eye were old-style buildings left over from the Victorian era.

The city is famous for its pottery, so Stoke City is nicknamed "The Potters" by its fans, and this nickname is even written into the team's crest.

The town was so boring that Sun Yu went to bed early and arrived at the Claytonwood training base early in the morning.

The training base is divided into an outer circle and an inner circle. Youth training and internal matches are held in the outer circle, while only the first team is allowed to enter the inner circle.

The other trial players arrived at the field one after another after Sun Yu finished warming up.

Just as everyone was warming up and greeting each other, a black sports car drove into the parking shed with almost no slowing down, then braked suddenly, and before it had come to a complete stop, it quickly reversed into the parking space.

The car door opened, and a man who was at least 1.85 meters tall, with sharp features and a muscular upper body that filled out his sportswear stepped out as if no one else was around.

"This is Garay Hooper, who scored 20 goals in the Championship last season, finishing second in the top scorers list."

"Scunthorpe United were relegated from the Championship, and it is said that his contract has a £200 million relegation release clause. Celtic and many Championship teams want him."

"This guy actually showed up! They say he earns £9000 a week!"

Gareth Hooper immediately became the focus of attention on the training ground upon his appearance, while Sun Yu's gaze was drawn to the Aston Martin V8.

Compared to the many ordinary vehicles in the garage, this black sports car stood out.

It has to be admitted that Gareth Hooper is quite adept at showing off.

He entered the training ground as if he were inspecting his own territory, questioning everyone about their backgrounds one by one.

This guy is really slick; every move he makes exudes an air of "I'm a cut above the rest."

Gareth Hooper did a few sprints, looking incredibly energetic. As he passed Sun Yu, he casually asked, "Dude, where did you play before? I've never seen you before."

"By the way, can you understand what I'm saying?"

As he spoke, he extended his right hand toward Sun Yu.

Sun Yu extended his hand and smiled: "I just terminated my contract with Leyton Orient and came here to try out for center."

He had heard of the other player, who had become a top scorer in the Championship at the young age of 22, and was considered a success in the professional football system.

Unexpectedly, when Gareth Hooper heard that Sun Yu was also a center forward, he immediately withdrew his hand and smiled disdainfully: "Is Stoke City's trial standard so low? Players who have been kicked out of League One teams are eligible for trials."

Sun Yu's smile didn't fade: "The reason is simple, because in their eyes, you and I are no different."

"You are nothing compared to a Premier League team."

Since he took the initiative to cause trouble, Sun Yu certainly couldn't let it go.

Gareth Hooper immediately took a step forward, looking at Sun Yu with disdain: "No matter what you say, you're trash!"

Sun Yu looked down at his opponent and retorted sarcastically, "Stoke City will never want a jinx like you who got the team relegated."

Gareth Hooper immediately lost his composure and reached out to grab Sun Yu by the collar, but Sun Yu slapped his hand away forcefully.

Others rushed forward to break up the fight, but Gareth Hooper became even more arrogant after being restrained, throwing punches and uttering threats. Sun Yu smiled and shook his head, thinking that this guy was actually quite weak.

This is not surprising. If the other player were a player who used violence regardless of the situation, he would not have survived to this day in the professional football world.

However, when it comes to fighting, Sun Yu has never been afraid.

At 9:00 a.m. sharp, Stoke City staff arrived at the training ground.

This group of trial players comes from all positions and would be considered tall and strong by most sports standards.

Although Stoke City finished in the mid-table of the Premier League for two consecutive seasons, their financial resources are still weak in the Premier League, and their youth academy lacks the ability to develop its own talent pool. That's why they hold these collective trials that are like "collecting leftovers".

Even if a team from a prestigious youth academy like Rice is abandoned, they wouldn't consider a small-town team like this.

Therefore, Gareth Hooper is undoubtedly the star player among this group of players.

A man with half-gray hair, dressed in sportswear, stood in the middle of the crowd and said in a loud voice, "I am Mark Robbins, assistant coach of Stoke City. Welcome to today's trial."

"You're all bastards handpicked by the club from every corner. Maybe one or two of you will stay, maybe none of you will!"

"We'll spend the whole day conducting physical fitness tests to weed out those softies who have all the muscle."

"Stoke City only needs the nation's top-tier scoundrels; you'll have to fight tooth and nail to have any chance of staying!"

Mark Robbins spoke with his chin slightly raised, his gaze passing over the tops of everyone's heads.

He gave off a feeling that he "couldn't be bothered to waste time talking to you guys," which annoyed Sun Yu a bit.

But there's nothing we can do; they're a Premier League team.

It's clear that the Stoke City coaching staff didn't have high expectations for this group of players.

At Mark Robbins's instruction, the staff quickly divided the players into four groups to begin physical fitness tests.

第一个科目是短跑测试，从5米、10米、30米、50米，最后是30米折返。

Sun Yu's group consisted of seven people, surrounded by four menacing-looking white men and two tall black men.

But after three years of "systematic" training, Sun Yu basically dominated the group.

After the five events were completed, Mark Robbins suddenly interrupted the test and selected Sun Yu, Garry Hooper, and four black athletes to participate in an additional 100-meter race.

As the starting whistle blew, a black winger took off and immediately pulled ahead of the others by a body length, while Sun Yu and the other four ran side by side.

Sun Yu exerted all his strength and ran 11.3 seconds, winning by a narrow margin over the other four and ranking behind the black winger.

Gareth Hooper glared at Sun Yu with displeasure, as if to say, "How dare you beat me?" Sun Yu rolled his eyes in response.

Next was the 3000-meter test, in which Sun Yu ran 8 minutes and 25 seconds, ranking first among the trial players.

Looking at the test results, the strength and conditioning coach specifically asked Sun Yu, "Have you ever trained in track and field?"

Sun Yu smiled and shook his head: "Never, but I do extra physical training every day."

Practice makes perfect.

He glanced at Gareth Hooper, who was panting heavily with his hands on his knees not far away, and said with a laugh, "You can't do it either!"

The latter snorted, stood up, and retorted defiantly, "I can't be bothered with trash like you."

The second stage consists of bench press, weighted squat, jumping, and flexibility tests.

Sun Yu ranked among the top in the first three tests, and his agility test was also better than that of players of the same height.

Gareth Hooper's performance at this stage was in no way inferior to Sun Yu's, while the others all had obvious weaknesses.

Ball control, passing, shooting, and dribbling are Sun Yu's weaknesses, and his performance in the trial was barely considered below average.

Garay Hooper, as expected of a top Championship striker, outperformed everyone else in these test rounds.

After the test, Garay Hooper taunted Sun Yu: "I told you before, the Premier League is not a place for trash like you."

He felt that a former English First Division youth player was not worthy of standing on the same platform as him.

Sun Yu controlled his emotions and still smiled, "Anyway, you're a jinx."

Gareth Hooper wanted to lash out, but his expression quickly changed from anger to seriousness.

Head coach Tony Pulis arrived, asked about the progress of the tests, and then said to everyone, "The last test is corner kicks. Everyone will be divided into three groups for attack and defense drills."

Upon hearing this, Gareth Hooper smiled confidently; this was one of his strengths.

He subconsciously turned his head to look, and Sun Yu's smile was as bright as the sunshine.

"Damn it, why is he so happy?" Gareth Hooper was puzzled.

Sun Yu clenched his fist: "Hunting time!"