Glowing reports from U15s coach Damien Duff led Shamrock Rovers to keep a close eye on Fulham full-back Sean Kavanagh and ultimately snatch him from under the noses of Derry City, Stephen Bradley revealed on Tuesday.
Former Republic of Ireland U21 Kavanagh - who was in the Cottagers' academy when Duff plied his trade there - had been training with the Candystripes and looked nailed on to move to the Brandywell.
However, once Bradley came calling the Dubliner admitted he just couldn't turn him down.
"I’m delighted to be here," the 24-year-old said.
"It’s the biggest club in Ireland so as soon as it comes knocking it’s hard to say no.
"Stephen McPhail and Stephen Bradley rang me and it came about quite quickly over the weekend to get it done for today.
I was really close to signing for Derry, I was just waiting for my deal to get sorted at Fulham.
"But Rovers came knocking and I’m a Dublin boy. It’s tough to turn down Rovers."
Derry boss Kenny Shiels said he believes Kavanagh will go on to prove himself as the best full-back in the Premier Division and Bradley was thrilled to get his man.
"Damien Duff was with Sean at Fulham and made me well aware of him, about a year ago, what type of player and character he was," he said.
"He said if he became available we should definitely try and get him so we just kept tabs on him.
"When we knew he was agreeing to leave Fulham we made contact. He’s been training at Derry and I know they liked him but once we spoke to him he said there’s only one place he wanted to play.
"Sean’s played at a really good level for a number of years now. He can play a number of positions, full-back, left or right-wing or centre-midfield. He has really good quality on the ball.
"He’s a good professional, he wants to work hard and do his business right so it all just fitted for what we need."
Fulham FC statement:
The Club can confirm, following completion of the necessary paperwork, that Sean Kavanagh has joined Shamrock Rovers for an undisclosed fee.
The left-sided player joined Fulham for the 2011/12 season, and progressed through the ranks before making his First Team debut at Craven Cottage against Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2014.
Kavanagh made 23 appearances for the Whites that term, with his finest moment coming in a 1-0 victory over Norwich City when he hit the winner at the Putney End.
A handful of subsequent appearances followed, as well as loan spells at Hartlepool United and Mansfield Town, but the 24-year-old Dubliner will now continue his career back in his home city with the League of Ireland Premier Division outfit, who have former Fulham hero Damien Duff among their staff.
Everyone at the Club would like to thank Sean for all his efforts during his time with us, and wish him every success in his future career.