Swansea City forward Morgan Whittaker faces something of a wait to discover his fate after being recalled from his loan spell with Plymouth Argyle.
The attacker netted nine times and registered seven assists across his 25 League One appearances for the Pilgrims. But he is now back at the Swansea.com Stadium, and Russell Martin's side have a big decision to make on the 21-year-old's future.
Here are the options assessed.
Keep him at Swansea
Many fans tracked Whittaker's progress in Devon and have been eager to see him given the opportunity to shine at the Swansea.com Stadium.
But Martin himself gave a huge hint that Whittaker would not simply walk straight into the Swans' starting line-up when asked about the 21-year-old after the loss to Burnley.
"He has been playing at Plymouth in what is probably the most competitive position on the pitch for us, with Olivier Ntcham, Luke Cundle, Ollie Cooper, Jay Fulton, Joel Piroe when he plays there," said the head coach.
"I think it's a really tough position to get in but, if he does come back, he comes back with the mentality that he wants to fight and get in the team and we'll have to take it from there."
Whittaker will undoubtedly be full of confidence following his 16 goal contributions for Steven Schumacher's side in the opening half of the campaign. Should Swansea fail to land their attacking transfer targets this month, then recalling Whittaker could prove to be a shrewd move.
However, Whittaker has a tough job on his hands when it comes to ousting others from the No. 10 slot, meaning he may well find game time hard to come by which possibly explains his willingness to publicly vent his frustration at being made to leave Home Park prematurely.
Sell him
Whittaker's stock has certainly risen as a result of his stint with Plymouth.
The versatile attacker joined the Swans from Derby County for a fee of around £700,000 two years ago, and he still has two-and-a-half years left to run on his contract in south Wales.
Should Swansea receive an offer north of £1m for the ex-England Under-20 international, it would prove rather difficult for the club to turn down.
Ipswich Town have shown an interest in the frontman, although a switch to Portman Road would be highly controversial given the Tractor Boys' current tussle with Plymouth at the top end of the League One table.
But, wherever Whittaker would end up in this scenario, funds generated could go a long way to helping Martin further mould the squad to suit his needs.
Plymouth themselves did explore the option of making his loan at Home Park permanent, although the League One outfit were unable to meet the Swans' valuation.
Send him back out on loan
This situation appears highly unlikely at present, but it can't be ruled out.
Whittaker will sit out Sunday's FA Cup third-round clash with Bristol City at Ashton Gate having already played for Plymouth against Grimsby Town in round one of the competition.
And should Swansea be unable to cash in on Whittaker, he could well move back out on a temporary basis if Martin does not expect him to get game time with the Swans in the final months of the campaign.
There is a key point to be made on each of these scenarios, mind.
FIFA Article 5.3 - named the Three and Two Rule - states a player can only play for two different teams in any given season, despite it being possible to be registered with three different clubs in a season.
"In accordance with FIFA Regulations a Player may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season," reads an EFL document. "During this period, the player is only eligible to play in official matches for two clubs."
It means, if Swansea were leaning towards selling Whittaker this month, they would have to ensure he does not feature in the Championship matches against Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City.
In the event that he did not play in the aforementioned fixtures and he was not moved on, the door would be open for Whittaker to return to the Swansea fold against Birmingham City on February 4.
Indeed, it also means that Plymouth would be the only other side Whittaker could play for this season if he did feature for Swansea this month.
So what has Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher said of this potential situation? "I suppose anything is a possibility if, for whatever reason, the plan changes and he becomes available then, obviously, we would be interested," he said in a press conference, as quoted by our sister title Plymouth Live.
"Where I was thinking as well, if we end up getting promoted and go into the Championship - and we think Morgan could be a Championship player - then if we could put a bid together and go and try and get him I'm sure he would like to come back here and play again because he loved it, the fans loved him and it seemed a good fit."
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