"He really was the talk of the academy - it was 'Trai this and Trai that'."
That Trai Hume was on the verge of a move from Linfield to England or Scotland has been one of the worst-kept secrets in Irish League football for some months.
Stoke City and Celtic were two of a number of clubs linked with the 19-year-old before he sealed a move to League One title candidates Sunderland on Tuesday.
For former Linfield captain Michael Gault, however, such a move was always on the cards for the Northern Ireland Under-21 international long before he became an Irish Premiership regular over the last 18 months.