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When director of football Marcel Brands picked up the phone to his counterpart at Manchester City, Txiki Begiristain, the initial response was not particularly encouraging.

For those at Everton who had experienced the two previous attempts at signing Fabian Delph, it will have felt like a case of history repeating itself.

It was March, and after identifying the experienced midfielder as a prime transfer target, Brands was keen to get the ball rolling on a move that, he hoped, would fly under the radar - but Pep Guardiola was not ready to make a decision on Delph's future.

City would be non-committal about being open to negotiation over the midfielder but, eventually, allowed Everton to speak with him.

And after Brands visited the 29-year-old in his home on the outskirts of Manchester, Delph, sat with his agent Steve Hall, was so taken with what he had heard, and what he had seen on a special power point presentation, that he went to the champions and asked them to listen to what Everton had to say.

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In the club's decade long pursuit of Fabian Delph, this was a major breakthrough but in keeping with the difficulties of trying to sign him, first in 2009 and then two-and-a-half years later on loan, it would not be a straightforward negotiation.

This summer, Brands has worked under strict wage parameters and given he was unwilling to spend heavily on a player of Delph's age, there was plenty of work to do.

But the Everton transfer chief persevered and a combination of Brands' long-standing relationship with Begiristain, chairman Bill Kenwright and the efforts of Hall, a deal was agreed in the middle of July.

The irony that his transfer from the champions was sealed for only a couple of million pounds more than he would have cost the club in 2009, will not have been lost on David Moyes.

A teenage Delph was first brought to his attention by trusted confidant Jimmy Lumsden who had been tipped off about this emerging talent in the youth ranks at Leeds United.

Scout Robbie Cooke would keep a close eye on Delph as he progressed through the ranks before making his first-team debut, in League One, in 2007.

Cooke's reports, and the more Lumsden was told, meant it warranted Moyes' No2 Steve Round to take a trip to Elland Road before Moyes made time in his packed schedule to watch the player in person.

“He first came on the radar when he was playing for Leeds under-23s,” Round told the ECHO .

“We had Jimmy Lumsden on the staff and, as an ex-Leeds player, he had some inside information on this young player. Leeds had some really good, young players coming through.

“One of our scouts, Robbie Cooke, was watching Fabian all the time, I then went to see him and then David went. We really liked him and he was definitely high on our radar and thought he would fit what we were about.

"He had the right attitude, a great work ethic and we had heard that he was a good boy. He was still young but would fit into, what we believed we were building, and what we were about.

“The only downside, and when push came to shove, was that we couldn't afford him.”

Aston Villa won the race to sign Delph in the summer of 2009 when they paid around £6m. His move to Everton this summer came at an initial cost of £8.5m.

There wasn't room in Moyes' budget to add Delph to Sylvain Distin, Johnny Hetinga and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov who joined that summer but, as Round explains, they all kept the player in their thoughts.

So much so that it led to a second, less well known, effort to sign him in 2012.

“We kept tabs on him when he was at Villa and he would go back to Leeds on loan,” he revealed.

“We tried to get him on loan but it was a bit more difficult doings loans Premier League to Premier League and it so it wasn't really on the cards.”

“We just liked everything about him,” he added.

“He had a really good attitude and that was the sort of young, hungry, fresh player we tried to get. They were the people who would fit in with the identity we were creating.

“He was left-sided but could play in a number of positions. We always liked players who could play in two or more positions.

"So as well as being a central midfielder, he could play left-wing and could provide cover at left-back. So we would look to have a squad of between 14-16 players rather than one of 18-22 to keep wages and fees down and keep it competitive.

“What we tried to do was identify players early. Unfortunately for us, Aston Villa – who were competing with us for those top five/six spots at the time – had done their homework too. We were really keen on him so were disappointed not to get him.”

Those with knowledge of the agreement that finally snared Delph believe Brands, and Everton, pulled off one of the moves of the summer in closing a deal with City.

The England international has since said he was “blown away” by the presentation Brands showed him, which outlined where they saw Delph playing, how he would fit into different formations as well outlining the ambitions of the club.

“Marcel sold me the dream,” he would say .

News of Everton being in advanced talks with Man City broke while Marco Silva and the squad were out in Switzerland on a pre-season training camp.

Jordan Pickford, an England team-mate of Delph's, soon found himself being asked about the player, and person, the Blues were trying to sign.

“The lads were asking what type of lad he was,” Pickford told the ECHO this week.

“I was telling them he was a proper leader, a good lad around the place but I only knew him from England but I knew he was a proper leader and knew how to win.”

“He's settled quickly. He's a great lad, all the lads buzz off him, he shows his qualities out on the training pitch and that shows on game day as well.”

After travelling to Verbier to meet up with the squad on July 16, Delph only took part in the morning session at the Stade St Marc the following day but he had instantly made an impression on his new team-mates.

“His quality is second to none, he can find a pass and he's not scared to get on the ball, which City players aren't,” Pickford continued.

“Delphy was playing for Leeds when he was 16-years-old, he's experienced and he brings all of that with him and the winning mentality he talked about when he signed, hopefully helps everyone else.

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“It's great to have someone like Delphy in the squad, more leaders the better and I would class him as a leader, as well as many others, in the squad.

“That helps our club captains as well, so if we have more of them on the pitch it should make the game easier because everyone is demanding of each other.”

But the goalkeeper was happy to remind Delph that there remains an outstanding piece of business that the summer recruit must take care of.

"He hasn't done one yet!” Pickford said, when asked about an initiation song.

“But we'll hold him to it”

Delph will be 32 when his Everton contract expires and though his peak years were not, as Moyes had hoped, spent at Goodison, Round is still convinced the wait will be worth it.

“He's an Everton player,” he said.

“His style, character and personality is in synergy with the Everton identity. It's a great fit.”