The end of the transfer window is just under two weeks away, but it's already been an eventful one for Swansea City.
Firstly, the departure of Ethan Laird struck a blow to Russell Martin's early plans, while the ongoing uncertainty around Jamie Paterson has clearly done little to steady the ship.
The captures of Cyrus Christie and Andy Fisher have been causes for optimism, while the imminent signing of Hannes Wolf on loan certainly seems a hugely promising development too.
But that good work won't make the sight of Matt O'Riley holding up a Celtic shirt any less disappointing, nor will it shield Swansea from facing scrutiny around their transfer policy.
The failure to find the £1.5m needed to bring the midfielder to the Swansea.com Stadium has laid bare the financial limitations seemingly facing the club in this window.
Or, alternatively, it demonstrates the hierarchy's frustrating reluctance to put their hands in their pocket when it matters.
It really depends on who you ask.
Martin's admiration for the young midfielder is one of the few certainties in this affair. In fact, it's understood his eagerness to bring O'Riley on board has been blooming for months.
It's not difficult to see why.
While he might not have been a name initially too familiar to many Swans fans, O'Riley has had data analysts all over Europe purring for some time.
His numbers for breaking up play, recycling possession, carries and chance creation were all well above average levels for a player of his age, making him a perfect fit for the Moneyball-based, free-flowing football that has come to define Martin as a coach.
There was even word that Premier League giants Liverpool had taken a look at the 21-year-old such was the impression he was making, although it admittedly seems unlikely that a move to Anfield was ever really going to materialise.
PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux and an unnamed Serie A club had also kept a close eye on developments, while Championship clubs were seemingly falling over themselves to cast their eye over his abilities.
And yet, armed with the Martin connection, the Swans appeared to emerge as the early front-runners. Initial discussions, by all accounts, appeared positive, and the player himself was understood to be keen on securing a reunion with his former boss.
Personal terms were effectively agreed in principal within the first week of the window, and there was plenty of confidence that O'Riley would soon be a Swansea player - provided the two clubs could come to an agreement on a fee.
It was at that point that cracks started to appear.
Sources had expressed doubts over Swansea's ability to do a deal just over a week ago, and those doubts, which would later turn to outright frustration, have seemingly built up exponentially ever since.
Interestingly, there's no suggestion that Swansea ever walked away. On the contrary, Martin seemingly remained steadfast in his eagerness to bring the midfielder on board.
But there was never any real indication of Swansea putting a package together that was going to empt MK.
Talk of a rejected bid and readied bids did the rounds on social media and in other outlets, but it's understood tthat a formal offer to MK was never made.
Eventually Swansea's inability to show MK the money, with the interest around the player intensifying by the day, effectively killed off any realistic chance to bring him to SA1.
Celtic, many would argue, are a bigger club than the Swans, but even in light of their interest, there's every chance O'Riley would have at least entertained a move to south Wales.
But by the time the player had heard Ange Postecoglou outlining his vision for Celtic Park, Swansea's interest had effectively been written off as nothing more than grandiose tyre-kicking.
Such an assessment may be harsh, but it's difficult not to wonder why, given their obvious financial constraints, Swansea seemingly continued to come to the table.
Martin himself seemingly acknowledged where the land lay with Swansea's financial situation, admitting a deal would take a 'certain level of financial investment'.
An appeal to the board for funds? Or a possible expression of hope that a sale, capable of greasing the wheels, could perhaps be clinched?
Either way, this episode has left Swansea once again vulnerable to questions around the cohesion of their transfer strategy.
After all, Martin's enthusiasm is unlikely to have simply sprung up independent of the thoughts of the Swansea board. There must have been some sort of confidence on some level that a deal was possible.
In any case, Swansea move on, and there's still every chance that this could prove to be a positive window.
But perhaps for the first time since Martin arrived, the power dynamic behind the scenes is back under the spotlight.
For the latest Swansea City news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up for our newsletter here.
