Even as late as this week, Nick Cox was keen to confine talk of his exit to as small a circle as possible.
After nine years at Manchester United, Cox is heading for a new challenge at Everton where the prospect of becoming technical director and getting the scope to map out a brighter future for the Toffees was simply too good a role to turn down.
There have been similar offers to leave before, both in England and on the continent in Europe, but the feeling was different after he was headhunted by Everton.