It's certainly looking like there is going to be no return this season for Jonathan De Guzman after weekend reports linking him with a move to QPR and Garry Monk admitted that it was unlikely he would be back at the Liberty this coming season.
De Guzman has spent two years on loan at the Swans from Villarreal and I am sure that the majority of fans would have wanted him back this season given his excellent record in the team - chipping in with more than his fair share of both goals and assists during his two years here.
But it has been very quiet on the transfer front as far as this particular deal is concerned and reports are now saying that De Guzman is more likely to end up elsewhere in the Premier League which - for me - would be a double blow to the Swans. To miss out on a player of his calibre is one thing, to see him lining up with a rival's shirt on just makes it worse.
However, I am sure that the player and the club have their reasons for not pursuing a deal that seems to be at around a £7m transfer fee which would seem reasonable enough for a player that has proven his worth in our division. The one thing though that we do know is that the moment QPR are involved then wages get inflated as they rarely have any idea on budgetary control and continually just throw large sums of money at anybody they want to sign - act now and worry about the consequences later I am sure is probably the club motto at Loftus Road.
That aside we do not know that money is the sole factor in what is going on. We, as a club, have never really made great noises that we would be prepared to sign De Guzman on a permanent deal and therefore we could make an assumption that the manager did not want him in the team although that in itself makes me wonder why considering his excellent record here.
The comments made in today's paper suggest though that Monk is open to the move when he said "We talked to him earlier in the summer, he wanted to keep his options open and I guess his options still are
"I do not anticipate him coming back at this moment in time.
"With the high turnover of players we have had, and trying to get as much information across to them as possible, we have not got time to wait around.
"I am not closing the door on it, if it happens it happens, but he and his agent were the ones who decided to keep his options open and we can't wait about."
He is right enough to say that we cannot afford to wait about but the question is can the player wait about any longer. I would hope that contact has come about more frequently than just 'earlier in the summer' but for now it looks like any strengthening we want to do in the central midfield position will come from different players and not the return of someone we know so well.
Shame.