When James Rodriguez admitted a month ago that he might be forced to leave Real Madrid to get first team football, the transfer rumour mills around the world lit up, linking him with all manner of clubs from China to the USA.
The strongest linked, however, was to Chelsea, who have money to spend and have gone some time without a big name signing.
The links between the two continued for some time, and when James was apparently seen at the British embassy in Colombia it seemed we had some evidence.
But today Spanish journalist and Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague flatly denied that there had been contact from ANY club with James, and made a move for the Colombian in January look pretty unlikely.
It’s a shame for fans of the Premier League that they will be missing out on watching James week in week out, but a blessing that Chelsea won’t get the chance to pull any further ahead.