Darren Bent has revealed four conversations led to him leaving Sunderland to sign for Aston Villa.
The former Black Cats striker was the focal point of the attack during his stay on Wearside and had scored 25 goals for Steve Bruce's side the previous year.
The 37-year-old told TalkSPORT that he was sat at home playing Call of Duty when a phone call from his agent snowballed into a £24million transfer to Aston Villa.
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Bent said: "It's funny because I was sat in the house playing Call of Duty on the Playstation - that's how randomly they can start.
"This is random it is. I'm sitting there playing Call of Duty and my phone goes. It's my agent. He's like 'Hi you alright.' We start having a conversation.
"My agent was having a conversation with a person called Geoff - he had something to do with the deal involving me going from Ipswich to Charlton. He was at Villa at the time.
"He said Aston Villa were looking for a centre forward and he'd put my name in as a joke. Someone asked if I was up for coming and he said he hadn't had the conversation with me but that he'd speak to me.
"He asked me would I be interested in going to Villa. I looked at their team at the time and thought why not? They had some good players at the time - Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.
"I looked at the team and thought it was a really good team. Even though I loved my time at Sunderland and I was really happy there.
"My agent said he'd call Geoff back and tell him there was a slim chance that I'd be interested in going.
"I carried on playing [Call of Duty] and 15 minutes later he [his agent] rings me back and said 'yeah they're interested.'
"I went - Wow.
"My agent said the two teams were going to speak on a price - I fully expected Sunderland to say I wasn't for sale. I'd just scored 25 goals the season before, so I fully expected them to say he's not going."
The Black Cats signed Bent from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of £10million which would rise to £16.5million as a result of add-ons.
The former England international wasn't expecting a move to transpire but was left shocked by what was to follow.
He said: "Even in the first half of the season I was on ten goals already or something. Then all of a sudden he called me back and Sunderland had quoted Villa something like £24million.
"I remember vividly laughing down the phone and said it was never going to happen. They were never going to pay that.
"I said I would speak to my agent in the next few days or whatever. I put the phone down and continue playing Call of Duty.
"About 45 minutes later the phone rings again. I'm like what is going on here.
"My agent said 'You're never going to believe this, Villa are willing to pay the £24million. That's when it became quite real. I was sat there thinking it's never going to happen.
"As I said I was more than happy to stay at Sunderland. I was playing really well and had a really good relationship with the supporters at the club.
"All of a sudden, that's when it became real. I had a decision to make. Do I stay or leave? Gerrard Houllier is now pushing this. This is all in the space of an hour-and-a-half. I've had four conversations."
