It was always going to be an emotional departure from his parent club for Leeds fan Alfie McCalmont, but where better to go than to club with which he had just enjoyed an unbelievably successful loan spell.
The 23-year-old spent the second half of last season at Brunton Park and was rewarded for his endeavours with a starting place in the play-off final just over a month ago.
With a two-year deal under his belt, he admitted that he was extremely happy to be here.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “Obviously this coming after last season and getting promotion at Wembley is fantastic.
“After finishing the last game of the season I was thinking about what was going to happen to me next and then a couple of days after the final we were already talking about me coming back.
“I was delighted about that and it’s just been a case of getting it all sorted over the summer. Now it’s about being ready for the first game of pre-season.”
“There was no hesitation from me at all, to be honest,” he added. “The fans, the players, the staff, they’ve all made it feel like home for me.
“I really enjoyed myself being here and I think you actually play your best football when you’re enjoying yourself, so it was a really easy decision for me to come back.
“It’s a two-year deal and I want to come back and help the team as much as I can, like I did last season. I feel like I’ve got a lot more to give, and as a team we know we’ve all got to step up to this next level now.
“It’s League One, we’re looking forward to it, and I’m sure we’re all ready to do that.”
With those 19 appearances as a Blue already under his belt, he said: “I said when I signed that I wanted to play as many games as possible and help as much as I can.
“With the position we were in I wanted to do my bit to help the team get the job done and we did that. I’m ready to kick on now and see what happens in this next season.
“All the gaffer has said is that he’s delighted to get me in. I spoke to him a lot over the summer while I was away and it was a case of going back and forth and getting it sorted.
“We’ve come to a good agreement and he now wants me to work hard so that I’m pushing to be playing and back in the team.”
Having talked about playing his football and improving, he highlighted the areas where he’s determined to push on.
“I want to help the team out as much as possible in terms of the numbers with more goals and assists,” he said. “I started well when I first came into the club and I want to give more of that.
“Now I’ll be getting a full pre-season under my belt I know I’ll be hitting the ground running. My aim is to play and that’s anywhere in midfield as far as I’m concerned. I want to be on the ball as much as possible and I really am just ready to get out there and get playing.”
And the fact is that he’s already written into United folklore having played a huge part in that successful play-off campaign.
“It was unbelievable walking up those steps at the end,” he admitted. “You see it on TV a lot, don’t you, but then I was there and doing it.
“The whole day was just magical and seeing all the fans there was superb. It’s another big part of why I wanted to come back.
“The supporters here are unbelievable. We saw that here for the second leg against Bradford and then again in the final when they all went down there.
“Like I say, I remember signing in January and thinking then that it would be unbelievable to get promoted. To actually do it was just kind of like, wow!
“I let it all sink in over the summer, and I know it’s a good achievement, but I want to take it to the next step now.
“This is my club now and it does actually feel different now because of that. It’s like my proper home now. I’ve signed for two years and hopefully the fans will see me as more than a loan player now. I’m here permanently and I’m really looking forward to it.
“The club knows me, I know the club, and that means I can come here for the first day of pre-season and I know my bearings. I know what to expect.
“Obviously playing in our stadium, I just love playing here. Again it’s something that I don’t need to get used to, I already know how good it is.”
Now, of course, it’s into a punishing pre-season schedule.
“I’m ready,” he insisted. “I’ve done a lot of running over the summer, mind you, we haven’t had that long off, to be fair.
“I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll have some hard weeks to come but then it’s on with it again. To be realistic I think we have to target staying in League One next season, push as high as we can as we do that, and I want to be playing as many games as I can.
“I think as a team, as a collective, we’ll all be as determined as we were last season and I’m sure that will take us a long way.”
