Officially A Blade!

At 7:30 in the morning, Zhang Xu appeared at the edge of the club's training ground. Seeing the empty field, he shook his head and, following the signs, sought out the office of head coach Wilson.

Five minutes later, Zhang Xu finally found Coach Wilson's office.

"Come in!" Coach Wilson had arrived at the club by 7:30 am. With a match against Huddersfield the next day, he needed to finalize the 18-man squad and arrange tactics promptly. Hearing a knock, he didn't look up but invited the visitor in.

Zhang Xu pushed the door open and saw Wilson engrossed in his papers. Not wishing to disturb him, Zhang Xu waited by the desk.

A minute later, Wilson remembered someone had entered and looked up to find Zhang Xu standing in front of him.

"Cough, sorry, Zhang!" Wilson laughed awkwardly, "Did you need something?" He then smacked his forehead, exclaiming, "Oh, damn, I forgot today's your first day with the team! This damned memory! Really getting old!"

"Ha, Mr. Wilson, it's not that you're old, but rather busy! With so many things needing your attention for the team, forgetting one thing isn't your fault," Zhang Xu said with a smile.

"Haha, you sure know how to talk," Wilson laughed heartily. "Come on, let me take you to the changing room." Standing up, he led Zhang Xu towards the first team's changing room.

When they arrived, the room was still empty.

Wilson chuckled wryly, "These lads rarely arrive early! Zhang, don't let them lead you astray!"

Zhang Xu shrugged, "Don't worry, Mr. Wilson, I'm quite strict with myself."

"That's good, Zhang," Wilson pointed to an empty locker. "You can use this one. I'll get someone to put your name on it later."

"Thank you!" Zhang Xu placed his backpack down and quickly changed into his kit.

By 7:50 am, finally, a player pushed open the door.

"Hi, boss, what brings you here?" The player was surprised to see Wilson in the changing room and then noticed Zhang Xu: "Wow, I know why now, haha."

He darted over to Zhang Xu, slung an arm around his shoulder, and said, "So you're the Zhang from Belgium, uh, what, Xu? Sorry, I can't get the hang of Chinese names."

"No worries, I'm Zhang Xu, pleased to be with the Blades!" Zhang Xu pronounced his name in Chinese.

"Haha, your English pronunciation is really good! I'm James Beattie, the acting captain. Old captain Morgan is in the hospital recovering from an injury. On behalf of all the first-team players, I welcome you, Chinese lad!" Beattie's warmth and friendliness, coupled with a friendly pat on Zhang Xu's shoulder, made him feel welcome. "The lads will be here soon. Should we give them a bit of a stimulating surprise?"

"Alright, Beattie, don't scare the kid!" Wilson laughed. "I leave Zhang in your care. At 8:10 am, bring a whole Zhang to the training ground!" With that, Wilson left the room.

Whole? Zhang Xu was momentarily puzzled.

"Haha, the boss means we have a special initiation ritual for the Blades, only done in the changing room!" Beattie winked at Zhang Xu with a mischievous grin.

Just as Zhang Xu was feeling uneasy, the changing room door opened again, and one by one, players entered amidst a babble of voices.

"Wow, you're that Chinese player Zhang, right?" They were all surprised to see Zhang Xu and crowded around.

"Yes, hello everyone, I'm Zhang Xu, newly joined from Belgium!" Zhang Xu introduced himself confidently.

"Hey, mate, I heard China has lots of delicious food, is that true?" One of them was obviously a foodie.

"Zhang, I heard about your Great Wall, 10,000 kilometers long? That's terrifying!" This one seemed to love travel.

"Zhang, I heard Chinese and Japanese have a feud because of a massacre during World War II where 300,000 were killed in a city. What's that about?" And there was a history buff.

"Hi, buddy, I heard in China they eat everything with chopsticks, is that true?" This one was into cultural studies.

"Bro, I heard China is called the 'Kingdom of Bicycles'; do you have a lot of bikes?" Someone living in the 70s and 80s.

The teammates' chatter left Zhang Xu bewildered, unsure of which question to answer first.

Fortunately, Beattie intervened, shouting, "Alright, lads, Zhang just joined the Blades, we can discuss all that later. Now, isn't it time for our unique initiation ritual?"

"Wow, I love that, hehe!"

All eyes gleamed at Zhang Xu, causing him to shiver. Just as he was feeling most apprehensive, Beattie yelled, "Bring the knives!"

A player handed him two long, gleaming knives. Beattie brandished them and announced, "Let's begin!"

The teammates surged towards Zhang Xu, swiftly stripping him of his clothes, and pushed him in front of Beattie.

"What's this about, captain?" A nervous Zhang Xu had never encountered such a scene before.

"Don't worry, just a little surprise, haha!" Beattie swung the knives, laughing uproariously.

The cold blades swept by Zhang Xu's bare skin, raising goosebumps.

Just when he thought something terrible was about to happen, Beattie swung the knives down fiercely towards him.

Zhang Xu, held tight by his teammates, could only watch as the blades approached. They stopped less than a centimeter from his body, and he exhaled in relief.

Then Beattie crossed the knives under Zhang Xu's head, yelling, "Smile, Zhang!"

Forced into a situation where he had to smile, Zhang Xu managed a grimace. "Click!" A flash went off.

Zhang Xu realized a teammate was photographing him naked, his head resting between two long knives!

So this was the Blades' initiation ritual! Quite, uh, intense!

As Zhang Xu was about to dress, thinking the ritual over, Beattie yelled again, "Don't move! There's another photo!"

He lowered the knives... finally placing them on Zhang Xu's crotch!

"Hey, captain, be careful! Or my latter half of life is doomed!" Zhang Xu said with a wry smile.

"Ha ha ha..." His comment set off a wave of raucous laughter and screams from his teammates.

"Click!"

Finally, the second photo was taken, and the ritual ended. Zhang Xu hastily covered himself, cautiously avoiding the sharp blades, and quickly dressed, relieved to have survived unscathed.

"Ha ha, lads, let's welcome Zhang, officially a Blade! Ha ha!" Beattie led the applause, and everyone clapped and laughed warmly for Zhang Xu.

"Thank you, everyone! Thank you!" Zhang Xu thanked them and asked uneasily, "But, captain, you're sure there's no other initiation ritual, right?"

The teammates burst into laughter.

At 8:10 AM, Zhang Xu and his teammates, now laughing and joking, headed to the training ground.

Coach Wilson and Assistant Coach Alan nodded approvingly at how quickly Zhang Xu fit in. Wilson took out the tactical board, addressing the team.

Seeing Zhang Xu quickly integrate into the team, Coach Wilson and Assistant Coach Alan nodded in satisfaction. Then, carrying the tactical board, they approached the team.

"Alright, lads, I believe you've given Zhang a unique initiation ceremony!" Wilson said with a wry smile.

"Haha, boss, of course!" Beattie led the teasing, causing the teammates to laugh uproariously. As the subject of the jest, Zhang Xu could only offer a wry smile in response.

"Okay, now, let's hear from our newest member from Belgium. Introduce yourself, Zhang!" Wilson gestured for Zhang Xu to step forward.

With a small sigh, Zhang Xu strode forward and began his introduction: "Hello, everyone. My name is Zhang Xu. If it's too much trouble later on, you can just call me Zhang! The initiation ceremony earlier was quite hair-raising. Afterwards, I was thinking, if I had reacted even slightly, then," Zhang Xu spread his hands, "my life could have been over!"

The teammates burst into laughter at his comment.

"Previously, I played as a defensive midfielder. As for my position now, I guess I'll have to wait for the boss's direction; otherwise, I might end up playing basketball or volleyball!" Zhang Xu joked timely, eliciting more laughter from his teammates.

"Of course," Zhang Xu continued, "if the boss puts me as a defensive midfielder, I believe I can definitely help establish a solid defensive line in the backfield, a line that will make our opponents tremble!"

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!" His final statement was met with enthusiastic applause from everyone present. Not just for any reason, but because, throughout the season, the Sheffield United team, which had dropped to League One, should have been leading comfortably but was currently only ranked third.

The biggest issue was the unstable defense.

Let's look at the data: in 25 league rounds, Sheffield United scored 45 goals, which is unquestionably impressive. However, they conceded 27 goals! That's an average of 1.13 goals lost per game! This number isn't reassuring, and it's a significant reason why Sheffield United is only in third place.

There's a saying: offense wins fans; defense wins victories.

If there's a problem with the defense, this season, Sheffield United's hopes of returning to the Championship might be in vain.

This is precisely why Sheffield United recruited Zhang Xu and why they were willing to apply for a special talent clause for him!