What are you thinking, Ethan is not for sale

"Gomez, pass me the ball!"

Thanks to his teammate's pressing, the ball finally made its way back to Valencia's feet.

Ethan immediately called for the ball.

Gomez hesitated for a moment, thinking to himself that it's rare for a rookie to ask for the ball so confidently on his debut.

But trusting Ethan, he passed the ball anyway.

Since they were a bit far apart, the pass came in fast.

Ethan stretched out his foot and stopped the ball three feet away.

Luckily, he was positioned slightly back, and there were no opponents nearby, so no mistake occurred.

His basics were a bit rough.

Ethan secretly covered his face, though he managed to look like he had everything under control.

After securing the ball, Ethan looked up to check the positions of his forwards while dribbling towards the right flank.

Just as he crossed midfield, Rodrigo, who had been in an offside position, suddenly made a break, sprinting past the defenders towards the opponent's box.

Almost simultaneously, Ethan, who had seemed nonchalant, suddenly made his move, sending a precise through ball right to Rodrigo's feet as he entered the box.

Beautiful pass.

Nuno's eyes lit up, and he almost jumped up in excitement.

He had initially thought Ethan was only good at set pieces and planned to develop him as a forward.

But after seeing that pass, he felt Ethan was better suited for midfield.

"Free role in the front."

These words almost subconsciously popped into his mind and stuck there.

Nuno chuckled and shook his head, murmuring, "Let's see what else this kid can do."

That was a really smooth pass.

That was Rodrigo's first thought as he received the ball.

Without any adjustment, he pushed the ball towards the far corner of the goal.

As the ball hit the back of the net, the Zenit players raised their hands, signaling for offside.

But the linesman made no indication.

"Whistle."

The referee blew his whistle, pointing to the center circle.

The goal stood.

Tying the score, Rodrigo couldn't contain his excitement any longer.

He ran crazily towards the sidelines, celebrating with the home fans.

The rest of the team quickly ran over, piling on him in celebration.

"Beautiful, Rodrigo, you're the hero of the team."

"You're definitely buying dinner after this."

"Get off, you lot, you're crushing me!"

Rodrigo struggled to push his teammates off and then quickly ran over to Ethan, giving him a big bear hug.

"Ethan, that was a beautiful pass, I haven't received such a smooth one in a long time."

Ethan gave him a thumbs up, smiling, "It was your shot that was beautiful."

"Heh heh."

Rodrigo scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, "Ethan, do you think we can win this match?"

Ethan glanced at him, "Is that even a question? Just keep passing me the ball, and I'll take us to the Champions League knockout stages."

"Ha, you're not modest at all."

As the game continued, Ethan, who had already contributed a goal and an assist within ten minutes of coming on, quickly became the focus of the opposing team's attention.

Every time he got the ball, two players would close him down—one blocking the passing lanes and the other pressing him closely.

Ethan knew with his current dribbling and physicality, he wasn't going to get much out of the opponents.

So, he opted to pass the ball early to his teammates.

Nuno, watching from the sidelines, noticed this too. During a break in play, he called Alcácer over and signaled him to try more dribbles to create space for Ethan.

With the score leveled, Alcácer felt less pressure and his moves were fluid, showcasing tricks usually reserved for practice sessions. His Marseille turns and rabonas delighted the crowd but seemed like provocations to the Zenit players.

Temporarily abandoning their tight marking on Ethan, they shifted their focus to Alcácer.

"Heh, here they come."

Alcácer was pleased, speeding up and dribbling the ball away from Ethan's path.

Ethan, catching on quickly, dashed towards the center.

Seeing Ethan unmarked, Alcácer passed the ball across to him.

The defenders near the box rushed to close him down, aiming to intercept the ball the moment Ethan received it.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo was tightly marked by two tall Zenit center-backs, unable to turn and receive the ball.

"This pass is going to get cut off."

Nuno predicted this instantly from the sidelines.

To prevent a counterattack, he frantically waved and shouted for his players to fall back.

Ethan was well aware of his situation too. Without great dribbling or physical prowess, the chances of losing the ball upon receiving it were high—99 percent, to be exact.

But he wasn't panicked.

"SSS-level skill: Guaranteed Goal activated."

Facing the incoming pass, Ethan didn't bother to control or adjust the ball.

Instead, he struck it directly.

"Boom!"

With a dull thud, the ball flew into the net at 80 mph.

A world-class goal.

The referee immediately blew the whistle, signaling the goal was valid.

"Did that just go in?"

Valencia players, who were rushing back to defend, stopped in their tracks, momentarily forgetting to celebrate.

Rodrigo was the first to react, sprinting towards Ethan and tackling him to the ground.

"Ethan, that was a stunning goal, thank you."

"Ethan, you're the best gift God has given to Valencia."

Alcácer, limping a bit, joined the celebration. He had given his all to make that pass.

"These guys play rough."

As more Valencia players joined the celebration, Ethan finally felt the overwhelming pressure of their joy.

"These guys are seriously heavy."

On the sidelines, Nuno was ecstatic.

He roared at the top of his lungs, reveling in the thrill of the comeback.

Zenit's coach Boas approached with a scowl, "Nuno, such a talented player must have cost Valencia a pretty penny, huh?"

"Heh, just a million euros," Nuno replied with a chuckle, telling the truth.

"You old trickster, you're pulling my leg," Boas glared, "You're telling me you got such a complete attacker for just a million euros, unless the seller was out of their mind."

Nuno rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Believe it or not."

Boas pondered for a moment then whispered, "Would you consider selling him? I could convince my club to offer 20 million euros."

Nuno glanced at him with disdain, "Dreaming already? What are you thinking, Ethan is not for sale."

Boas, not ready to give up, gritted his teeth, "30 million euros, and that's my final offer."

Nuno ignored him.

Back on the pitch.

With Ethan's two goals and an assist, Valencia changed the score to 3:2.

Their next task was to defend this one-goal lead and take home the three points.

Nuno quickly made substitutions, replacing the previously effective Alcácer and Mina with two defensive midfielders to strengthen their midfield interception capabilities and disrupt the opponent's rhythm.

Zenit also made adjustments, swapping a midfielder for a forward, hoping to at least equalize in the remaining time.

But Valencia didn't give them a chance.

In the remaining minutes, the Spanish team, with their superior technical skills and midfield numbers, firmly controlled the game, dragging the 3:2 scoreline to the end of the match.