Stoke City chief Tony Scholes says manager Mark Hughes' determination clinched their deal for Mame Biram Diouf.
The Potters beat a host of clubs to land Diouf on a Bosman from Hannover.
Scholes says that long chase has eventually worked in the Potters' favour.
"The critical relationship for any player is with the manager," he said.
"If a player knows that the manager has not just woken up one morning and thought of him but actually done his homework, been out to watch him and made it known consistently for a long period of time that he's the player he wants, it counts for an awful lot.
"That worked against us one particular occasion last summer when another club got a player ahead of us, and that is fair enough, but it's worked for us on a couple of occasions this year as well and Mame is the best example."
