Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp credited the club's scouts for helping the Reds sign Roberto Firmino from Hoffenheim on the cheap.
Firmino joined Liverpool in the summer of 2015 for a fee of £29 million and while the Brazilian took some time to adapt to the English game, he has been in sensational form this season under the guidance of the German.
Klopp, who was on a sabbatical after leaving Borussia Dortmund during that time, admitted that he was shocked by the price tag, having rated Firmino as one of the best attackers in the Bundesliga in his time there.
"The first thing I did when I left Dortmund, I took my phone and deleted all the numbers so I was not reachable. So I didn't speak to anyone to offer advice, about Firmino or anyone else. Nobody asked me about him but he was a player I thought was one of the best in the Bundesliga," Klopp told the Mirror.
"So when I saw that Liverpool had signed him I thought, 'How could Liverpool do this?' They were not in their 100 percent best moment and other clubs would have spent more on him, so I thought, immediately, 'What a good transfer for them.'
"When I heard about it I thought they had made a good signing, because I felt pretty sure clubs would have paid a lot more for him."
And when Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, he knew in Firmino he had a remarkable talent on his hands, and groomed him into playing the false nine position where the Brazilian has justified his coach's faith in him with six goals in all competitions.
"When I knew I was coming here I knew I had a good player -- I was looking forward to working with him very much," Klopp added.
"He is happy ... so he doesn't care about getting more credit or recognition. Of course he is very important because he can play these positions, all three positions in our system, and in our system I'm sure he could play the eight too.
"He is different, but he can play there. He is a very important player, a connecting player, a finisher, a fighter, a defender, the first defender -- that is important. A lot of things he is good at are very important for us.
"He's still a good listener, and a good trainer. He likes to train he likes to learn, so that is excellent, a nice package."
Firmino's excellent showing has propelled Liverpool into third place, three points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea. But Klopp refused to take the plaudits, preferring to laud praise on the club's scouting network that helped bring the South American to Anfield.
"I can see in the Premier League you cannot have the perfect overview of the Bundesliga, and in the Bundesliga you cannot have the perfect overview of the Premier League," he said.
"So you can know the Champions League and the players who are top class, but around there are so many good players you cannot know, only if you watch each game at the weekend.
"That is normal, and a lot of people thought Hoffenheim, where is this, that is a lot of money. In Germany some people don't know where it is, but if you play your football there, then you feel it is a tough place and so you know what a decent job the scout did, whoever brought him in for that price."
Firmino will have a chance to add to his goal tally when Liverpool entertain West Ham United on Dec. 12 at Anfield.