The timing of Jean-Mattéo Bahoya's arrival tells you plenty about why Leeds United wanted him.
For much of deadline day, the future of Wilfried Gnonto remained uncertain. Leeds were clear that the Italian would not be allowed to leave unless they could secure an attacking replacement, and with Fiorentina waiting, the pressure was on to find one.
They eventually did.
Bahoya arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt on loan, with Leeds holding an option to make the transfer permanent.
He became the seventh addition of the summer and, in doing so, completed a window in which Leeds have repeatedly attempted to strengthen the depth available to Daniel Farke.
The obvious question is what Leeds actually see in him.
The answer starts with his ability to attack space.
Bahoya is a player whose pace can change the dynamic of a game.
For a Leeds side that will face plenty of opponents willing to defend in a compact shape, having an attacker capable of running beyond defenders or carrying the ball quickly towards the final third gives Farke another way to open teams up.
That does not necessarily mean he will start every week.
In fact, competition for places is arguably the most important part of his arrival.
Leeds already have attacking options, but a Premier League squad needs more than 11 players.
Injuries, fatigue, tactical changes and the sheer number of fixtures mean Farke will need to rotate, and Bahoya gives him another profile to introduce when a game requires something different.
His arrival is particularly interesting when viewed alongside Harry Wilson.
Wilson offers creativity, experience and an ability to influence games from the right side or in more advanced positions. Bahoya, meanwhile, brings youth and explosive pace.
They are not competing to do exactly the same job, and that is a positive.
A manager wants options rather than seven versions of the same player.
Bahoya also arrives at an interesting point in his own development. He has already played 78 times for Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring seven goals, but at 21 he remains a player with significant room to grow.
That makes the structure of the deal particularly sensible from Leeds' perspective.
Rather than committing immediately to a permanent transfer, the initial loan allows the club to see how Bahoya adapts to English football and how well his qualities translate into the Premier League.
There is also an element of succession planning to the move.
Leeds did not want to lose Gnonto and simply accept that they were one attacker short. Their insistence on finding a replacement before sanctioning his departure showed that the club were thinking about the squad as a whole rather than treating individual transfers in isolation.
Bahoya is not Gnonto 2.0, and trying to make that comparison would be unfair.
Gnonto leaves Leeds with considerable experience of English football, while Bahoya is only beginning his Premier League journey. The new signing therefore needs time to establish himself.
What Leeds have bought is the opportunity for him to become an important player.
That is perhaps where the move fits best within the wider recruitment strategy.
Trafford, Muharemović and Bahoya all represent players who could become significantly more valuable over the next few years, while Wilson, Elvedi and Zetterer provide the experience needed to help a squad navigate the immediate demands of the Premier League.
The balance is important.
Leeds cannot build an entire squad around potential. They need players who can contribute now. Equally, they cannot spend every summer signing players who have already reached their peak.
Bahoya sits somewhere in between.
He has enough senior experience to suggest he is ready for the challenge, but enough development still ahead of him to make the investment interesting.
There is also the simple tactical benefit of having someone who can change a game from the bench.
If Leeds are level with 20 minutes remaining and the opposition's defensive line is beginning to tire, bringing on a player with Bahoya's pace could create opportunities that were not available earlier in the match.
That may be his most valuable contribution initially.
The expectation should not be that he immediately becomes one of Leeds' most important players.
The expectation should be that he provides Farke with another option, learns quickly and pushes the players around him.
If that happens, Leeds will have achieved exactly what they wanted from the move.
Bahoya may have arrived at the very end of the window, but this does not feel like a signing made simply because Leeds needed another body.
His profile fits the broader recruitment strategy, his position addresses a genuine need and the structure of the deal limits some of the risk.
Now comes the interesting part: seeing whether his speed, directness and potential can translate from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.
