Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber admits they were reluctant to sell Ben Godfrey to Everton last summer.
Playing across the back four, Godfrey has quickly become one of the mainstays of Carlo Ancelotti's Everton side this season following his £20million transfer for Norwich.
Webber told the Athletic: "I sat with Ben and I really didn't want him to go last summer, nor did (head coach) Daniel Farke, obviously, but it was Everton – it was one of the best managers in the world (Carlo Ancelotti).
"It's a club trying to get back to where they were as a big club at the top end of English football. You get to the point of thinking, 'How can we actually stop this lad?'
“If we had, it's not only the effect on Ben and those around him, it's the effect on the rest of the dressing room who go, 'Wow, they turned down X for you to go there? That means they'll probably do that to me.' It can cause ill-feeling."