Ben White's was a story that played out away from the intense focus of Liverpool this transfer window.
While players like Thiago Alcantara and Gini Wijnaldum continued to dominate the agenda as far as supporters of the Premier League champions go, there was a contract being signed elsewhere that those on the inside at Anfield will have taken note of.
After a successful season on loan in the Championship at Leeds last time out, White ended speculation over his own future by signing a new deal with Brighton on Tuesday.
“I am pleased to get it all done, and now I am looking forward to playing for the club in the Premier League," he said after committing his long-term future to the Seagulls.
“It’s been a long time coming, I have been out on loan for three years now, but now I am back and I want to try and make an impact here."
White was one of the outstanding performers for Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds last season, making 46 appearances in the Championship in total as they were promoted to the Premier League.
However, despite their best efforts, Bielsa's side will be without the centre-back when they kick-off their first top-flight campaign in 16 years at Anfield this month.
Leeds made as many as three bids in their determination to make the move permanent, but despite the final one coming in at around a reported £30million, Brighton held firm and tied the 22-year-old down for longer instead.
Liverpool, for their part, will watch on in the background.
It was confirmed to the ECHO that the Reds scouted White extensively last season in the Championship as they monitored the progress of a young defender with a big future.
With it becoming increasingly clear that Dejan Lovren's days were numbered at Anfield, White was one of the standout candidates to potentially replace the Croatian.
His profile as an emerging English prospect in his early 20s was one that ticked a number of boxes in the eyes of the club's recruitment team.
However, with Brighton turning down bids of £30m in a COVID-19-affected market, the Reds decided to keep their powder dry before the new deal was signed on the south coast this week.
Those close to White believe that the Reds will be one of the teams who return to the table next summer, provided he continues his upward trajectory.
Sources have spoken of how the defender is on the perfect career path to one day realise his full potential as one of the finest centre-halves around.
A big year in the Premier League is the next checkpoint to pass, they say.
In 12 months' time, White will have been given a season of invaluable experience in the Premier League and will have made the necessary adjustments and improvements to his game, so goes the theory.
With a season at Brighton on the agenda, White will certainly be given a chance to hone his game at the back.
The Seagulls had the third-best defensive record in the bottom half last season and he is expected to move into the space vacated by Shane Duffy's move to Celtic.
White says he learned so much under the guidance of the iconic Bielsa, talking up the attention to detail that the veteran Argentine was known for at Elland Road.
“I learned so much from him," White said. "It was the detail in every aspect of the game that he put the work into.
“His coaching was all about details, the minor details, things like how the ball spins when you pass it, how you’re passing it, why you’re passing it."
Released from the Southampton academy at the age of 16, loan spells with Newport County and Peterborough prepared him for life in the Championship with Leeds before Liverpool started to take note.
The Reds will monitor him further and will be in a much clearer position from a financial standpoint next summer to decide if he is ready for Anfield or not.
A big year awaits and Liverpool are watching.
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