I think getting him in July was the best and only scenario available to us imo. Bilbao were holding firm on not letting him be sold unless the release clause was met, which nobody was prepared to do given that he's barely featured in the first half of the season. The fact that we laid the foundations for a potential move last Summer means the player is aware of how much we want him, therefore making it less likely for him to sign for another club. Ultimately the €4 million per season is gonna be a huge deciding factor too.
All in all, good business, we get a great striker for free, not many deals like that going on anywhere else especially in this market.