Christophe Berra is well aware that Mick McCarthy has been on his tail for some considerable time!
And the Scottish defender is delighted that the Wolves boss has finally got his man.
'Berra late than never' indeed!
"I think Mick had a look at me last season," says the 24-year-old.
"At that stage Hearts didn't want to do a deal.
"It's good that he and Wolves stayed interested and I'm just delighted this opportunity has come along and I'm really excited to be coming to Wolves."
And while Christophe is swopping the top flight of Scottish football for the second tier in England, he is also well aware that the stakes are high.
Wolves are top of the table with 16 games remaining - bringing its own pressures - but that's the sort of situation the former Hearts captain thrives on.
"Coming into a team at the top of the league means it might be difficult to get a place in the team but that's a challenge I'm looking forward to," he explains.
"There is pressure involved but it's better to have that pressure at the top of the table rather than being involved in a relegation battle.
"It's a good pressure to have and one which I'll relish to be honest.
"I've played in some big games up in Scotland and am looking forward to getting involved in some more.
"The club are in a great position at the moment and with 16 games to go it's just a case of taking things on from here."
Christophe first trained with his new Wolves team-mates on Sunday before an unexpected day off yesterday as all the squad were told to stay away from the Compton training ground due to the inclement weather conditions.
Just a morning in the squad's company has convinced the senior international of the potential on display at Molineux and he is certainly ready to go - if selected - against Norwich this evening.
"Now the move has gone through I'm ready to go against Norwich but obviously it all depends on whether the gaffer picks me," he admits.
"I think you can see what the gaffer is trying to do at Wolves.
"There are a lot of good young players in the squad who can only get better and a good spirit within the squad.
"I spoke to a few of the lads over the weekend and you can see that it's a good dressing room with everyone working for each other.
"There was a good team spirit at Hearts and even there it was quite a different squad with a mixture of Scottish and foreign players we were all fairly alike.
"I think that's important and it's good to know it's the same here at Wolves."
It might be slightly stereotypical but there will undoubtedly be people suggesting Christophe has brought the snow and ice down from Scotland such has been the Wolverhampton weather which has greeted his Molineux arrival.
The man himself begs to differ, although he admits his first taste of Molineux - watching Saturday's win against Watford - certainly whetted the appetite.
He adds: "I came to the game on Saturday and my first impressions were that it was absolutely freezing!
"Everyone talks about the weather in Scotland but I think it's actually worse down here judging by the last couple of days!
"Seriously it was great to see the game and the stadium and I can imagine it's fantastic to be playing there when it's a sellout.
"It just adds to the excitement of wanting to get going."
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