The home stadium of Atletico Paranaense, the Mario Celso Petraglia Stadium.
Gao Bo sat in the stands watching a match in the Brazilian Serie B.
During the match, he saw Sandro, who came on as a substitute in the second half.
Although Sandro still had a bit of youthfulness on his face, Gao Bo recognized him at a glance.
The eighteen-year-old Brazilian had dark skin. According to his current information, his height was 1.76 meters, but Gao Bo thought Sandro was at least 1.80 meters tall.
This was actually normal. The height data of eighteen-year-old players was not always accurate, after all, they were still adolescents in the growth stage, and their height was constantly changing.
But to be honest, Sandro, who came on as a substitute, did not show the strength of a future top left-back.
He even contributed a mistake on the defensive end, allowing the opponent to seize the opportunity and score a goal.
If he didn't know Sandro's future achievements, just watching his twenty minutes of performance would make people give up the idea of buying him.
After watching Sandro's performance at the Mario Celso Petraglia Stadium, Gao Bo decided to go to the training ground to observe him again the next day.
For Gao Bo, signing Sandro was actually a gamble.
Although Luton had a Europa League spot next season, those defenders who were already famous would certainly not join Luton because of this, so Gao Bo could only go to some second-tier leagues to find bargains.
Just like Alex Sandro, who was not yet well-known, and the team he was in was not a big team, so there were actually very few players to choose from.
The reason why it was said to be a gamble was because Sandro did not have an EU passport.
And England's damned work permit system forced Gao Bo to find a way to solve Alex's difficulty in playing in the Premier League in the future.
If he had to apply for a work permit at that time, even if Luton used the special talent clause, it might not be approved.
So Gao Bo wanted to complete the transfer as soon as possible, and then let Sandro show his due strength in the pre-season warm-up matches, so as to impress those FA bureaucrats at the labor permit hearing.
In addition, there was another way to apply for a Portuguese passport for Sandro.
Mendes could play a role in this.
Because Brazil was previously a Portuguese colony, and Portugal revised its immigration law the year before last. According to current Portuguese law: "Descendants of Portugal who maintain normal contact with Portugal" can obtain Portuguese citizenship.
What is "maintaining normal contact with Portugal"?
There was a lot that could be done here.
Brazilians could always have some connection with their mother country, Portugal. Applying for a Portuguese passport and having dual Brazilian and Portuguese citizenship was easier than people from other places.
What's more, with Mendes' status in Portugal, it was most appropriate to ask him to handle this matter.
Of course, there was a risk of failure in everything.
Whether it was applying for an English work permit or applying for a Portuguese passport, Gao Bo could not guarantee 100% success.
However, Gao Bo still decided that he could not let go of this potential stock, Sandro.
Even if he couldn't register for the Premier League, Luton could participate in the Europa League next season, and Sandro could become the team's exclusive Europa League full-back... although this seemed a bit extravagant.
However, the Premier League games were much simpler than the Europa League games. It was not impossible to use the weaker Solo Davies at left-back, or to let Hassan Ali play in this position.
Gao Bo's first task before this season was to go to Brazil first.
He needed to settle Sandro's matter as soon as possible.
The best result, of course, was that Sandro could apply for a Portuguese passport.
From Sandro's training, Gao Bo still found many of his advantages.
First of all, his foundation was very solid, and those abilities of his in the future were now beginning to mature.
The eighteen-year-old Sandro was ready to welcome the professional league - at least there was no problem in League One.
There were also some things that Gao Bo valued.
In training, Sandro performed very seriously. The Brazilian's sloppiness was completely invisible in him. Instead, he was like a Puritan, not a Catholic from Latin America.
After watching a training session, Gao Bo felt relieved and decided to contact Sandro.
Gao Bo didn't know who Sandro's agent was, and he wasn't even sure if he had an agent.
So Gao Bo could only take a stupid approach and fly directly to Brazil to talk to Sandro in person.
.....
Gao Bo waited until the end of training, and the players came out of the training ground one after another.
The fans who had been waiting outside the training ground for a long time swarmed up.
Although it was only a Brazilian Serie B team, they also had many fans locally.
The main players were the objects of the fans' embrace. Those main players of the team were surrounded by fans, and their hands kept signing autographs for the fans. Lucky fans could even get a group photo.
Such a scene did not belong to Alex Sandro.
He was just a young player who had just been promoted from the youth training camp to the first team.
If the team's defenders had not been so short of people due to injuries some time ago, he would still be waiting for opportunities in the youth training camp.
Sandro tidied up his things, then carried his backpack and walked through the lively crowd with his head down.
Just then, his path ahead was blocked.
"Hello! Alex!"
A hand stretched out in front of Sandro.
.....
Gao Bo was a language genius.
In addition to English, he was also quite proficient in Portuguese.
So when he greeted Sandro in fluent Portuguese at the entrance of the training base, Alex Sandro was stunned.
Sandro was very surprised that a yellow-skinned, black-haired Oriental person stopped him and seemed very familiar.
"Are you calling me? Sir?"
From Gao Bo's clothes and the aura emanating from him, Sandro used honorifics.
Sandro cautiously stretched out his hand, shook hands with Gao Bo lightly, and then let go.
"Yes, Alex! I've watched a few of your games.
Today's training was good!"
"Thank you!" Sandro nodded, maintaining a sense of distance.
Sandro did not have any trust in the stranger who suddenly came up to him.
He was just an ordinary player who had not had any bright performance opportunities for a long time.
Even becoming a main player in the club seemed a bit distant.
What kind of person would be eyeing such a player?
"Keep this training attitude and performance, and your future is limitless!"
Gao Bo said with a smile, with an unquestionable tone in his voice.
A smile also appeared on Sandro's face.
He was a naturally optimistic Brazilian. Facing praise, Sandro showed his Brazilian side.
"That's for sure!!"
Sandro straightened his back and said.
"Then..."
Gao Bo looked at Sandro and asked, "Would you like to play football in England, Alex?"