Stoke City are attempting to sign Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba on loan, according to the German Bundesliga outfit.
The two clubs had agreed a fee and the 25-year-old had agreed personal terms with the Potters as a permanent deal looked set to be completed over the weekend.
But it later emerged that Ba had failed a medical at the Britannia Stadium, and Hoffenheim claim Stoke are now only interested in landing the Senegal international on a temporary basis.
General manager Ernst Tanner told Heilbronner Stimme: “The Stoke manager (Tony Pulis) is desperate to land Demba Ba.
“The failed medical by Demba appears to me just an element of show in the whole transfer saga.
“Stoke are so keen on Demba that they have now come up with a proposal to sign Demba Ba on loan.
“This is certainly nothing we are going to agree to, but we will keep staying in touch with Stoke City though.
“It's a fact that we had everything done with Stoke regarding a transfer before Demba Ba failed to get through that medical.”
Ba went AWOL from Hoffenheim earlier this month, failing to attend a training camp during the Bundesliga’s winter break to instead travel to England to try to push through a possible move to West Ham.
And, despite the collapse of the deal with Stoke, Tanner has confirmed the player does not have a future at the German side.
He added: “We are certain in our viewpoint that Demba Ba is not going to play for us anymore and we will be sitting down on Monday to discuss which strategy will be pursued by Hoffenheim 1899 in the forthcoming aspects of this affair.”