St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari was certain he could turn a €50k outlay on Aberdeen star Topi Keskinen into a big profit for his old Finnish club.
Unfortunately, the owner of Kuopio-based KuPS refused to stump up the cash.
Instead, the then 19-year-old winger signed for Helsinki side HJK and turned himself into a €1 million player.
That’s the fee the Dons stumped up for Keskinen in August .
And when Saints travel to Pittodrie on Saturday, he is one player Valakari knows Saints must be wary of, whether he starts the game or arrives to bolster the Aberdeen attack off the bench.
“It’s a funny story about him and how football works,” laughed the St Johnstone boss.
“I was with my team KuPS and the team where Topi played was a local team, Mikkelin Palloilijat, about 50 miles from us.
“He was running out of his contract at the end of the season and I said to my owner: Let’s buy this player, we can get a deal.
“He only has six months contract left, we can get him for €50,000.
“I said I guarantee we could sell him for minimum half-a-million after a couple of seasons.
“My owner said: ‘We are not going to spend that kind of money for young players. We’re not going to buy him.’
“HJK took him. And sold him for €1m! He played almost two years in HJK then came to Aberdeen.
“He has this raw speed, this ‘X factor’. He can use this speed running with the ball, without the ball, score by himself, give crosses, the key passes.
Aberdeen strength in depth
“That speed can hurt the opponent. Since he came to Aberdeen he’s been playing well.
“It has been a little difficult for him as he’s been in and out. He’s very suitable for Aberdeen.
“In 4-4-2, he can play right or left winger and can really go one-v-one, really go behind the lines.
“Even if he is a substitute, he is a danger coming on. That’s been a strength of Aberdeen.
“You see in the Hibernian game, they took Keskinen out after 54 minutes, put another winger on who got an assist.
“They have this strength in depth, lots of options.”
One area where the Dons will not enjoy their normal level of strength is in goal.
Former Saints star Dimitar Mitov has been ruled out with a hamstring strain and will not feature against his old side.
Valakari stopped well short of suggesting that was good news for Saints.
But the manager has quickly grasped exactly why he was the Perth side’s player of the year last season.
“It’s unfortunate for the player,” he said. “I understand why he was so good last year for St Johnstone, from what I can see.
“He has been a big player for Aberdeen, so solid, a big presence when he is there.”
Conversation