Rangers boss Derek McInnes has revealed how he spent months trying to persuade Cammy Devlin to stay at Hearts.
The midfielder, however, has now committed himself to Rangers, just weeks after McInnes made the same switch from Tynecastle to Ibrox.
McInnes, who is delighted to have reunited with Devlin, hailed the midfielder's character and quality, and believes he will play a key role in Rangers' pursuit of silverware this season.
Speaking at Rangers' pre-season training camp in Spain, McInnes said: "Yeah, I think when you work closely with players, you've always got that added advantage.
"You don't just see what you get on a Saturday, but you see them day in, day out.
"And, you know, for me, he brings so much.
"As a free agent, it made so much sense to us.
"I was trying to convince Cammy for most of the season to stay at Hearts.
"And, you know, but I thought the longer that went on, he was maybe just looking at other opportunities.
"There was a few opportunities maybe abroad for him.
"But getting him to come and work with us again, I'm really pleased with that.
"I think managers, when you've got an opportunity to bring players that have done well for you previously, there's always that added attraction."
McInnes was keen to stress that his decision to sign Devlin was not just based on their past connection.
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He believes Devlin has the necessary mindset to thrive at Ibrox and will significantly contribute to the team's success.
"But if I didn't think he could do the job that's going to be asked of him, I wouldn't be doing it, as much as I like him.
"And I think what he has done, what he does bring, is a day-to-day mindset, a day-to-day mentality that's so needed at this club.
"It's so required that you need to train with personality, you need to train properly, you need to put the demand on.
"And he'll bring all that."
McInnes also praised Devlin's ability to improve those around him and his commitment to the team.
He said: "But I do think Cammy’s got the ability to make others round about him better.
"There's no coincidence that so many people, a lot of our forward players last season at Hearts, got so many credits and plaudits.
"But behind that was a team. And Cammy was a big part of that.
"His ability to make the guys round about him better, just by being him and being very simple, playing with passion, playing with enthusiasm, playing with a real competitive nature. But he also plays with, he's a proper team-mate in a true sense."
Devlin will join the squad as they continue to prepare for the new campaign.
The trip to face Dundee United in the Premiership opener is now looming large for McInnes and a squad that still needs further reinforcements.
Devlin is the second midfielder to arrive at Ibrox this summer following the capture of Dan Neil, the former Sunderland captain.
Amid ongoing uncertainty over the futures of Nico Raskin, Mohamed Diomande and Connor Barron, further additions are expected in that area of the side.
McInnes has outlined the need for character as well as quality. In his eyes, Devlin ticks both of those boxes.
"Yeah, I mean, listen, Cammy was free, he was a free agent, so there's an obvious attraction there," McInnes added.
"But for all those qualities I just mentioned, you could say something similar about Dan Neil.
"Obviously I've not worked with Dan for long now, but obviously having through a campaign with Cammy, I've seen, I know what I'm going to get first-hand.
"And he'll bring that on the back of a good season for him.
"I mean, arguably, if him and Lawrence don't get significant injuries last season, we could probably have won the league, but losing their impact was clear.
"So both of them had strong seasons, but both Lawrence and Cammy are good types.
"And I do think that it's more than just being a good player, that you need to thrive here.
"We can't always just sign players of that ilk, but if you've not got enough of them in the building, you're not going to get the job done, I don't think."
