Cardiff City's turbulent season took another turn last weekend with the club confirming it was under a transfer embargo for the next three windows following an ongoing dispute with Nantes around the first initial payment for striker Emiliano Sala.
There's clearly some confidence that a resolution can be found, but with the January window just around the corner it's sparked questions over what could be in store over the coming weeks.
It's a complicated situation for more reasons than one, but for Mark Hudson and many Bluebirds fans, there is one simple and central question to this sorry saga.
What can Cardiff actually do in the January window?
Here's a brief overview of where things stand.
Incomings
Let's get the obvious point out of the way first. Cardiff can't buy new players.
But, interestingly, there's still a chance we could yet see a new face or two.
Under the terms of the embargo, clubs are permitted to 'staff up' to ensure they have a squad of 23 senior players. The idea is to preserve the integrity of the competition and means a club under embargo can still sign players provided they don't breach that 23-man threshold.
For what it's worth, Cardiff's squad list, according to the EFL, currently stands at 22, meaning they would still be allowed to sign another player when the window opens.
There are, of course, some caveats here. Any arrival will have to be a player currently not registered to another club or on loan. In the case of the latter, there can't be any sort of fee involved, and Cardiff would not be permitted to pay additional wages on top of the player's salary at their parent club. Those two conditions alone could rule them out of the running for some of the loan market's most prized assets.
Additionally, any player who does arrive can only sign on until the end of the season.
If Cardiff were to reach the 23-man threshold, they could yet sign further players, but would first need to get a player out the door. This would have to either be by terminating their contract, or by selling them to another club. Importantly, players leaving on loan wouldn't be permitted to be replaced under such circumstances.
Any potential arrival in this 'one-in-one-out' arrangement would also have to be on an equal or lower financial package than the player leaving.
Outgoings
Things are actually pretty simple in this regard.
There's nothing to stop Cardiff selling or loaning out players during the transfer embargo..
Recalling loans
Mark McGuinness, Dillon Phillips and Kieron Evans are all out on loan at the moment, and the prospect of Cardiff not being able to supplement their squad with new arrivals will bring their immediate future into question.
But it brings us back to the 23-man threshold point. If Cardiff have room to register a returning loanee in their squad then they can.
Otherwise, it's a no-go.
The academy
While there are restrictions on bringing in new players for their senior squad, Cardiff are still permitted to register academy players, scholars and other players outside the first team.
Players can also be promoted from the academy, but this will depend on the circumstances of the club and will be determined by the league.
Those coming out of contract
Curtis Nelson, Joel Bagan, Mark Harris, Gavin Whyte, and Tom Sang are among those out of contract in the summer, and January could well be a time to start thinking about their respective futures.
Despite the embargo, Cardiff are free to offer all of those players new deals, although again it would have to ultimately be agreed by the league.
Any further details?
There are likely to be further conditions and pieces of information at play here, particularly in regards to the financial side of things.
But the EFL deliberately choose to keep some of the more nitty-gritty details of embargoes behind closed doors. This is mainly due to their eagerness to ensure the potential for clubs taking advantage of any side under embargo is minimised.
Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman has suggested the matter could well be resolved before the window open. As things stand, sources have told WalesOnline that, from the EFL's point of view, the situation remains the same and the fact this embargo relates to what is ultimately a FIFA ruling merely complicates things further.
There are clearly lots of moving parts and potentially a few twists and turns ahead over the coming weeks.
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