Kieffer Moore's handing in of a transfer request to Cardiff City was the "final nail in the coffin" for him forcing a move through to Bournemouth, Bluebirds boss Steve Morison has said.
The Wales striker sealed a deadline-day exit to the promotion-chasing Cherries after tabling a formal request for the club to sanction a transfer.
It all happened very quickly, Morison revealed, when the club learned of his desire to leave after the 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday night.
"After the game on Sunday, I actually left and had to come back to the stadium because there was movement," Morison said.
"We were still ‘No’, then obviously it got to yesterday and the final nail in the coffin was the transfer request.
"We needed to make a decision and we were always ready and waiting if something happened."
Despite Moore's 20-goal debut season, the manager believes the move was best for all parties.
There was a dip in form from the striker, who has managed only five goals during an injury and Covid-ravaged season for him personally.
"I think you can see his performances since the summer have not been where they were last season," Morison added.
"We still didn’t want to sell him. We wanted him to turn his form around and be a part of what we're doing.
"He had a contract next year and an option on him, so had him for a good bit of time.
"But he really wanted the move, effectively forced the move in the end with the transfer request. There’s no point keeping people who don’t want to be here.
"We need people who want to be here and want to fight and keep pushing us on. It suited everyone in the end."
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Cardiff had fought off interest from Wolves in the summer transfer window, however the player's clear desire to depart the club this time around meant the Bluebirds were not going to stand in his way.
As Morison said, the manager needs fighters and all players pulling in the same direction to claw themselves out of this relegation dogfight.
But, perhaps, the failed Premier League move in the summer might have had something to do with the 29-year-old's visible lack of sharpness in front of goal this term.
When asked if missing out on a move to the Premier League might have affected the striker, Morison replied: "100 percent. 100 percent. Human nature takes over.
"You think you’re at it, you think you’re doing what you did last year. It was a tough run of games in terms of results, so everything plays its part.
"That uncertainty… everyone likes certainty and likes clarity in life. That uncertainty certainly affected his performances.
"From his point of view, he’s got what he wanted, Bournemouth have got what they wanted and we got what we asked for.
"We managed to get really options in, so we’re not just reliant on one player, we’ve got all forwards who can come to the party."
The fee is thought to be an initial £3.5m rising to £5m, with Wigan thought to be entitled to a small percentage of that.
And while many Cardiff fans were not entirely impressed by the reported fee, Morison insisted the club was happy with the money they received.
"That’s just a guess, that figure, from someone who made it up," Morison said of the reported figures.
"We got what we wanted, so we’re happy. We are all right.
"Don’t believe everything you read."
