He did not play a starring role. In fact, he did not even get on the pitch.

Instead he sat in the shade of directors’ box on the hottest evening of the year, in tracksuit and T-shirt, and, between signing the odd autograph and posing for an occasional photo, watched the game going on front of him.

But, though he had no part on the pitch at sweltering Aldershot, it turns out the man in the shadows that evening has, unwittingly, had more of a hand in upsetting the Seagulls’ plans for the new season than the Fulham players who, as he watched, sent them to a 3-0 friendly defeat.

Paul Winstanley and his recruitment team are assessing their attacking options after seeing a record deal for Spurs prospect Alex Pritchard hijacked by Norwich City.

It is by no means back to square one. They have a wealth of information built up on potential targets and a good idea of who they want.

But, still, the setback they suffered off the pitch over the recent 24 hours left a feeling not unlike that resulting from on the on-the-pitch kick in the teeth at Middlesbrough in May.

That they were so near and yet so far. That they put in an awful lot of hard work and went unrewarded. That it was all a bit unfair.

A bit like Chris Hughton telling his team to “go again”, Winstanley’s team will be back at work today having to accept with a touch of resignation that they have been victims of the messier side of transfer dealings.

They had completed painstaking negotiations over a fee with Tottenham – a club with whom they have excellent links through chief executive Paul Barber and Hughton himself – and both personal terms and the agent’s fee had been agreed.

A medical had been set-up, although it is likely that would have been a formality. Clubs tend to do their homework in that department these days Then, as revealed by theargus.co.uk yesterday morning, Norwich moved in – after themselves seeing a prime target taken from their clutches. That was where the man in the shadows came in.

The Argus:

Ross McCormack, pictured above, sat out that Fulham date with the Seagulls in Hampshire two weeks ago pending a move and had looked set to head for Carrow Road.

Aston Villa made a late move for him – and Norwich had a gap to fill with money to spend and time of the essence.

If their sense of urgency meant they contacted the player without first securing permission from Tottenham, then their approach was an illegal one.

If that was the case, it also left a question as to how favourable, or otherwise, a deal they could negotiate with Spurs chief Daniel Levy, who was in a strong position but who wanted to offload the player deemed surplus to requirements by Mauricio Pochettino.

It would appear that Albion were left pretty much powerless as they saw Pritchard, a man who could have played off a frontman such as Glenn Murray or Tomer Hemed, reportedly headed to Norfolk for a medical.

Their immediate fury at seeing their man get away will be replaced by work on other targets.

At some stage, it will give away to a more wide-raging contemplation of the ethics of the transfer market.

And there will be thoughts, no doubt, about whether the whole idea of parachute payments has somehow been forgotten amid the spiraling riches coming into the game at the highest domestic level.

The whole point of such financial support from the Premier League used to be to prevent relegated clubs from sliding into financial trouble when they went down a division with players still on top-flight wages.

The emphasis has shifted a long way since then.

That gives a club like Norwich massive, and arguably unfair, financial advantage – to the tune of about £40 million this year – over an outfit like Albion who, in other aspects, are pretty equal, certainly in terms of attendances, infrastructure, sponsorship and other income.

There is a huge debate to be had over whether what used to be a lifeline has now become licence to gazump well-run rivals from the same division.

Norwich felt the sting – but were rich enough to strike elsewhere.