“Business casual” played a part in Toronto FC landing its newest high-priced player.

A hefty sum of funds didn’t hurt, but Tim Bezbatchenko’s attire certainly made an impression.

When TFC’s general manager — who’s usually dressed to the nines — flew to Turin, Italy, to court Giovinco for the first time earlier this year, he dressed down for the occasion.

Business casual, that is.

“He was expecting a suit — someone more formal,” Bezbatchenko told the Toronto Sun on Monday, hours after it was announced Giovinco will start the2015 MLS season with Toronto FC.

“I didn’t have a tie on. He liked what I was wearing, whatever it was,” Bezbatchenko said.

In simpler terms, the 28-year-old former Juventus play-maker liked the “vibe.”

He was relaxed, smiling and excited by what the Reds had to offer.

“I think he thought it was going to be a stuffy meeting,” Bezbatchenko reminisced. “It was just comfortable.”

So comfortable that Giovinco’s agent, Andrea D’Amico, picked up his phone and invited Giovinco’s dad to join the preliminary meeting, even before any terms had been ironed out.

In a nutshell, “it was going well”, according to Bezbatchenko.

The two sides shook hands, went their separate ways and Bezbatchenko did what anyone would do.

He called his boss, MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke, to provide a progress report on his pursuit of a player the Reds had identified as a target back in October.

“One of our primary needs was an attacking midfielder who can play a little bit higher up the pitch,” Bezbatchenko explained. “We had a list of about 50 players our scouting department presented us with that fit that criteria.”

From there, Bezbatchenko and TFC bench boss Greg Vanney “quickly” narrowed that search down to 10 players — a list that included the likes of Costa Rican international Bryan Ruiz in addition to lesser-known South Americans.

Just as fast, TFC’s list of Designated Player targets was cut in half — with Giovinco’s name heading a top five.

“At that point, we didn’t think it was going to be possible (to sign Giovinco),” Bezbatchenko said.

Nonetheless, Toronto FC’s front office sent staffers out to watch all of their DP targets play live in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. While they liked them all, Giovinco — again — made the biggest impression.

By early December, though, Toronto FC hadn’t made any headway with the Italian international, resulting in the club’s top suits turning their attention to South America in case Option A didn’t pan out.

Off to Argentina Bezbatchenko, Vanney and a few other TFC staffers went.

“We cast our net very wide, with specific criteria,” Bezbatchenko said of what was essentially Plan B. “We came back and, around mid-December, we had a number of options — two or three in Argentina and Uruguay, two or three in Europe.”

With the holidays around the corner, the Reds became slightly more aggressive. They put out a few more feelers.

They became more aware of which players were six months away from becoming free agents.

Shortly thereafter, a group of Toronto FC representatives crossed paths with Giovinco’s people in London, England.

At that point, it was still casual. The Reds hadn’t yet spoken with the player.

Coincidentally, one of Giovinco’s representatives had fond memories of Toronto FC after exploring the city with Gennaro Gattuso in 2007, a time when the city was buzzing with MLS support.

“They wanted to learn more about the league,” Bezbatchenko said of Giovinco’s entourage.

Emails were exchanged. Broad parameters were set.

“I showed them who we are. This is about a collective unit. This isn’t about coming on vacation,” Bezbatchenko said.

“It was just about making sure the commitment was there.”

When there was confirmation of that, Bezbatchenko boarded a plane in mid-January bound for Milan, where D’Amico picked him up and drove him an hour-and-a-half west to Turin.

“I remember when I got off the elevator in Milan, he was very stylish,” Bezbatchenko said of D’Amico. “It was just getting to know each other (on the drive). By the time we got to Turin the player understood there was something that might happen here.”

Not to mention his “business casual” attire didn’t hurt talks.

“They were really intrigued by everything about the club and the city,” Bezbatchenko said of Giovinco and his representatives.

He added: “At that point it became real.”

After a phone call back to Leiweke, Bezbatchenko arrived back in Toronto to speak with ownership about the financial terms of bringing on an Italian international in the prime of his career — a player who was being pursued by Arsenal and Fiorentina to name a few.

“I was pinching my skin because I thought there was a catch,” Bezbatchenko said. “Part of me thought they were using us as leverage for another deal.”

Amid working closely with the MLSE board and MLS, things came together rather quickly.

The player’s demands (around $35 million) were met, making him one of the highest-paid players in MLS history.

Bezbatchenko found out the deal had been approved on MLS Draft Day, when — coincidentally — TFC’s young GM learned the club had officially landed Jozy Altidore, too.

While the rest of the league was checking out TFC’s draft picks, Bezbatchenko shed a grin knowing he’d just made two of the league’s biggest off-season signings.

With the pieces falling into place, D’Amico arrived in Toronto for a meet-and-greet with MLS top brass.

Giovinco’s official unveiling arrived days later on Jan. 19.

As of three weeks ago, the Reds weren’t planning on adding Giovinco until after he played out his contract with Juventus.

His original timeline for arrival was mid-July — almost halfway through the MLS season.

Bezbatchenko added he wasn’t looking at any altered timeline until Giovinco and his agent explored an early arrival.

So it back to MLSE’s owners for Bezbatchenko.

“If the player goes to the club and initiates it, and Juventus is open to it, then we had to be prepared to bring him on earlier despite our stadium not being open and the player having to travel on the road. For us, it was going to be a win if we got him in early.”

Word arrived on Monday that Juventus had agreed to mutually part ways with Giovinco in order to allow him to join Toronto FC for pre-season camp later this week.

“From our standpoint, international players need time to adjust and acclimate to MLS,” Bezbatchenko said. “For us to get Giovinco here early was critical for us and putting ourselves on a path to the playoffs.”

Giovinco would have missed at least 17 games in 2015 had TFC’s marquee attacker not showed such a commitment to the crest.

Instead, he’s likely to be in the flesh when the Reds hold a more formal player introduction later this week.

The only question left unanswered is whether he and Bezbatchenko will show up business casual.

After all, it’s what got this ball rolling in the first place.

THE SEBASTIAN GIOVINCO FILE

PLACE OF BIRTH: Turin, Italy

HEIGHT: 5-foot-5

CLUBS

* 2006-15: Juventus

* 2007-08: On loan at Empoli

* 2010-12: On loan at Parma

* 2015: Toronto FC

INTERNATIONAL: Giovinco has appeared 21 times for Italy.

THE FORGOTTEN MAN

He’s the forgotten Designated Player — a holdover from the Ryan Nelsen era at Toronto FC.

Gilberto remains in Brazil after being more or less uninvited to pre-season camp while the Reds iron out what to do with a player that can’t be on the club’s roster — as league rules currently stipulate — come March 1.

“Despite what you read, we’re still working out things with the league and the player and his representatives,” Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said. “We’re still going through our options there.”

It’s unclear what those options are, although Bezbatchenko seemed confident in saying most avenues are still on the table.

Rumours arrived over the weekend that Gilberto had been sold to Vasco da Gama, where he’s currently training. “It’s one of those where, unless the rules change, he can’t be on our roster come March 1,” Bezbatchenko said.

In his first year with Toronto FC, Gilberto, 25, scored seven goals and added five assists.