Liverpool's signing of Kostas Tsimikas caught many by surprise but that does not mean that the Premier League champions acted in haste. When Jurgen Klopp describes the man from Olympiakos as someone they "have been watching for a very long time" that fits the modus operandi of one of the best recruitment operations in world football.
The Reds will have noted Tsimikas's performances in European competition against Tottenham and Arsenal. Klopp, in particular, will have enjoyed seeing him succeed in keeping another of the Liverpool manager's favourites, Adama Traore, quiet against Wolves.
But interest in the Greece international long predates the player's successful two years with Olympiakos. It was his 33 appearances for Willem II in the 2017/18 Eredivisie season that put him on Liverpool's radar. That season, Tsimikas not only counted Gini Wijnaldum's brother among his team-mates but also Pedro Chirivella, on loan from Anfield.
An earlier loan spell with Esbjerg in Denmark had been difficult. Much like Andrew Robertson, the man with whom he must now compete for a spot in left-back, Tsimikas added a relegation to his name early in his career. Not that he was to blame for that.
Indeed, Esbjerg's sporting director Ted van Leeuwen is on record in saying that the player "met all expectations" during his time in Denmark, stating that he would have moved heaven and earth to keep him at the club had they been able to stay in the top division.
Instead, the Dutchman recommended Tsimikas to Willem II.
"Ted van Leeuwen spoke to the club about him and said that he had a lot of potential but the situation had been pretty difficult over there," Reinier Robbemond tells Sky Sports.
Robbemond had begun the season as Willem II's assistant manager before taking on caretaker duties towards the back end of the campaign. He remains in touch with Tsimikas - a congratulatory text message has already been sent - and enjoyed witnessing up close the improvement in the player's game that has now taken him all the way to Liverpool.
That season in Holland, Tsimikas made more tackles than any other defender in the Eredivisie, highlighting his combative nature, while also completing the most dribbles of any defender - 56 of them for a team that found itself struggling in the wrong half of the table.
"That is really his strength," says Robbemond, "the extra that he gives the team going forwards. He also provided some great crosses and, especially with the strikers that we had, it was a real weapon for us. He scored some great goals too so he was very popular with the people over there. That was also because of the energy that he gives in every game.
"For us, he was a really important player. He showed that during what was a difficult season. Besides all that, he is also a very good guy. He is a guy who is always happy and has a good influence on the team just with the way that he is as a personality."
Not that everything went smoothly for him.
"He had some troubles in the beginning because he is a guy who needed to adapt and feel happy in the club. At the beginning, he had some difficulties with that. But as soon as he started feeling at home and feeling appreciated you saw him develop every week.
"The weapon that he has is that he likes to attack a lot but he was sometimes a little bit easy-going at first, thinking that when he attacked it would probably be fine defensively so he could gamble a little bit. He soon realised that was impossible. We kept working on that with him and after a while it went out of his game. He became much more reliable.
"There was also the fact that we changed a little bit our way of playing during the season. We started the season played with a back five with him at wing-back and then we changed to four defenders. In the beginning, he had a little bit of problems defending in the system that we played. After that, we changed it and he began to develop even in his defending."
Robbemond insists that he "was sure that he would go back to Olympiakos and do well" - so much so that when the coach moved to PSV to work with Mark van Bommel there, he attempted to convince the Dutch giants' scouting staff to make a move for Tsimikas.
"When Jose Angelino left PSV to back to Manchester City, I mentioned Kostas in the scouting meetings to get him to PSV because I think he would have been great for the way that Mark van Bommel wanted to play. I thought he could play the role how Angelino had played it very successfully. Not everyone had the same opinion. That was a shame for us."
Robbemond is reluctant to compare Tsimikas to Robertson having not worked with the Scotland captain, but he feels the comparison with Angelino - now thriving in the Champions League with RB Leipzig - is indicative enough of the Greek's potential.
"I think he is that kind of player," he says. "It was no surprise to me that he has done so well at Olympiakos but, of course, the speed of play in the Premier League will be much higher.
"Even the training, that will be his first job before he can think about battling for a position. Making the step to one of the biggest clubs in the world will be his biggest challenge."
What is in his favour is that he is mentally prepared and that will have formed part of the thinking behind this signing. Tsimikas is 24. Still with room to improve but not so young that the club is buying mere potential. He has experience but his best years are ahead of him.
That has been a feature of Liverpool's recruitment in recent times. Only one of the club's outfield acquisitions under Klopp - back-up centre-back Ragnar Klavan - has been over the age of 26. The mean, median and mode average age of a Liverpool signing is now 24. That is precisely the age at which Tsimikas finds himself becoming a Premier League player.
The move comes at the right time.
"He was a guy who just enjoyed everything and was really happy about how everything was going," says Robbemond. "He was a guy who made a lot of jokes and had fun. But he then started being professional and started doing what was necessary to perform every day.
"He grew up. He became more mature and understood what was necessary to prepare for every game. I am sure that happened at Olympiakos too. He has improved in every way."
That approach is non-negotiable now. Klopp has taken note. "He is a very good footballer with an attitude to win and to compete," says the Reds boss. "I really like his mentality. It fits perfectly with the mood and the desire we have in our dressing room already."
There are no guarantees of a starting spot. Even Robertson took time to win his place. Expect Tsimikas to find his opportunities in the domestic cup competitions. But do not be too shocked if Liverpool's imaginative recruitment has turned up another bargain buy.
"Now he has made the step to Liverpool and, of course, that is a big surprise," adds Robbemond. "But for him it is a dream come true, I think. I am really proud of him."
"It is an unbelievable challenge, huh?"