"Brentford you say?" Henrik said unknowingly.
His job had just gotten about ten times harder. This was a premier league club scout that was speaking to his prospect.
Colin looked over at Henrik, almost as of he had just noticed him for the first time. "Oh hello, a fellow scout I presume?" Colin said, extending his hand for a handshake. His posture oozed confidence.
This was a man who knew he had an advantage, and he very much intended to use it. "Colin Whitaker, Brentford F.C."
he said as he firmly gripped Henrik's hand.
"Ah yes, Henrik Van Der Meer." He said as he could see Colin break into a smile for a slight moment.
He didn't even see Hendrik as competition.
"Yes, Kaiser." He said as he turned back to the talent he wanted to take back home with him.
"As I said earlier, my name is Colin and I represent Brentford FC. Here's my card." He said as he coolly handed Kaiser his scouting ID.
"I watched your performance today and I must say it's almost unbelievable that you're just 14." He said as he looked over the boy.
Kaiser took a glance at his mother who was trying her hardest to contain her excitement. Even though it seemed he had blown his chance the first time, even more scouts came to sign him, She was overjoyed.
"With your level of talent now, under the right guidance you could become an exceptional player." Colin said.
He continued for a few minutes as Kaiser listened, eventually he finished.
"You'll have to come to the center in London in order for the trial." He rounded up with.
"Wait, I'll still have to travel for another trial before joining the academy." Kaiser asked, catching the attention of Hendrik who was seriously considering giving up.
"Yes, it's only a measure. In my eyes you're good enough. But for a club as big as ours, I can't make these decisions on my own." Colin explained.
"Would the club pay for the trip?" Kaisers mother asked, speaking for the first time since the conversation started.
Colin took off his face cap before running his hand through his hair. "Unfortunately no. The trip and accommodation will have to be handled by yourselves." He stated.
"That won't be easy, the amount we would need is huge." Kaiser said aloud.
"I'm sorry son, but that's just how it is. There's no academy that would pay for a prospect to try out for their academy." Colin emphasized.
"Ours will." Said Henrik without a second thought.
Everyone turned to him, bewildered, Sanne included. "Your academy will sponsor a trip? For a prospect with no prior training, from my knowledge at least." Colin asked skeptically.
"Yes, for him we can make an exception." Henrik said, standing his ground.
Truthfully this wasn't part of protocol. If they paid for the trials of every potential talent they found then clubs would lose more money than they made every year.
But this was a risk he was willing to take. This boy… was gifted. This was an opportunity presenting itself, and he knew he would be a fool to let it pass him by.
Colin rolled his eyes, before putting his face cap back on. "You have my details, when you're ready. Please give me a call, the trials come up in 4 weeks so please contact me before then." The man said as he gave a curt nod, his Nigerian assistant following alongside him.
'He's very pompous.' Kaiser thought within himself. How was he so sure he would be contacted by Kaiser?
Besides, it was a no brainer that he would go with Hendrik who was offering to pay for their trip without the need for a trial.
With the terrible exchange rate, his mother wouldn't be able to fund such an expensive trip. However he still had to be composed, he had the advantage here.
"Mr Hendrik, if I were to go to the Netherlands with you, would I receive an allowance while at the academy?" He asked Hendrik, who was frankly shocked that the boy was thinking that far ahead.
"Yes, you would. As long as you're a registered member of the academy you would receive an allowance every month. As well as accommodation." He assured him.
"When would he have to leave if he were to accept your offer?" Kaisers mother asked, obviously concerned for her son. He was still a child after all.
"Well he would have to come as soon as possible frankly. The season begins soon so he would have to get up to speed." Henrik said.
"What about school? He's just entered secondary school, would his education have to stop?" She asked again.
"But I've already finished school." Kaiser muttered to himself.
"There are school programs as well. Rest assured his education will no be pushed back." Henrik said, hoping this was enough to get the family's approval.
"Alright then, Osho it's totally up to you." His mother said.
"Alright, I think I'll accept me Henrik's offer." He said to the delight of Henrik and Sanne.
"That's wonderful, do you have a passport? We need it so you can-"
"BUT." Kaiser said cutting the scout off.
"I'll only go if you pay for my mother to come with me before going back to Nigeria."
Sanne tugged at her uncles sleeve, prompting him to look at his niece. "This is too much uncle Henrik, the director will already be upset that we're paying for his trip to the Netherlands." She whispered.
Henrik looked at his niece and smiled before turning to Kaiser and his mother. "Alright then, when would you be available to travel?" He asked.
"We'll have to go home and discuss, but after we do we'll get back to you." Kaiser said with a smile, the first time he's looked happy since his conversation with Henrik started.
"Of course, here's my card." Henrik said, handing his card to Kaiser as he tapped his shoulder.
"I'll be expecting your call." Henrik said, as he guided his niece away from them and headed towards their car.
"Osho! A voice called from behind them." It was Joshua, and behind him was… His father?!
Sighting them, his mother immediately tensed up. He was a minister after all. And a very influential one at that.
"Good afternoon sir." Kaiser and his mother said in unison.
"Please please there's no need to be so stiff, a friend of my son is a friend of mine." The man said cheerfully.
"Why don't you boys go over and speak while we adults catch up?" Joshua's mother said, prompting the boys to move aside.
"First of all, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. Then I wanted to thank you for your help during the game. My dad wouldn't be this happy without your help." He said, earnestly.
"That's fine. It was all for the team." Kaiser said, with a neutral expression.
"Could we exchange contacts?" The boy asked shyly, bringing forth his phone.
"Yeah, that's fine." Kaiser said, bringing his own phone as well and exchanging numbers.
"Quite a few scouts were looking for you by the way, I'm sure you must have gotten Into a good academy. I'm so jealous." Joshua said slyly.
"Yeah, but I still haven't decided yet. By the way have you seen Peter? I think he's supposed to go back with us." Kaiser asked, surveying the area for his only friend out of this group.
"I heard something, I don't know how true it is though." Joshua said in a hushed tone.
"What did you hear?" Kaiser asked, intrigued for the first time.
"I heard… a team from Brighton took him out to convince him to join their academy."