Earlier this month, the Sun linked West Ham United with a swoop for Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia.
They reported that the Hammers had their eye on a free transfer for the Reds skipper, after the relationship between him and Jose Mourinho ran cold.
Having seen the impact Pablo Zabaleta was still capable of having, Manuel Pellegrini was keen to bring another experienced campaigner to the London Stadium.
But now Mourinho has been sacked, and the dynamic has changed at Old Trafford. Seeing as it was his cold relationship with his manager that pushed him closer to the exit door, the change in the United hotseat may well convince Valencia to stay.
With United set to bring in an interim manager until the end of the season when they are planning to appoint a permanent boss.
That may well put the blockers on any radical January business, and any temporary manager may well be reluctant to sell his club captain during his short spell in charge.
All that could well be bad news for Pellegrini, in his pursuit of Valencia, but of course his contract situation has not changed yet, and the former Wigan man may well not wish to tie himself down to a club where it is unclear who the manager will be next season.