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Swansea may struggle to keep midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson beyond the end of his loan deal after Hoffenheim made it clear that they would like him to return at the end of the season.
The Iceland international was allowed to leave the German side under former boss Holger Stanislawski, but new manager Markus Babbel has indicated that he is very much in his plans for the future.
Sigurdsson signed on a six month loan deal and have been in superb form for the Welsh side, scoring six goals in just 10 Premier League appearances and earning the Player of the Month award for March.
Swansea would have loved to be able to agree a permeant deal for the former Reading midfielder, but it seems Babbel is determined to bring him back to Hoffenheim.
"Gylfi is under contract at this club for next season. He will come back and train with us," the former Liverpool defender told Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, as reported on Sky Sports.
"It is difficult for me to jump on a plane and visit him in Swansea due to time restrictions. He is playing in a different team and a different competition and you cannot compare the Premier League with the Bundesliga.
"He has already shown during his time here that he is a good passer of the ball and that he can score goals. I am keen to get to know him, and that is why I want him back.
"The fact is that he is under contract here and he will start the new season at this club."
Swansea boss Brandan Rodgers had indicated that he would have liked to sign the 22-year-old as he heaped praise on the performances he has given since signing in January.
"He has been a wonderful acquisition, I knew what I was getting and he has delivered brilliantly and hopefully he can continue that until the end of the season," said the former Chelsea coach.
"He is in the Frank Lampard mould, he gets into the six-yard box, is willing to get his shot off with his left or right foot and can score with his head like he did at Fulham.
"He is a goalscoring midfield player and you don't get too many of those. But he has that instinct, he was born with it and he works very hard on his shooting and finishing.
"He is still very young but he is a player who can do well at this level, as he has shown. He has the same hunger as Frank, who wanted to be better every single day."
Despite being loaned away from Hoffenheim, Sigurdsson had performed well in Germany where he had scored 9 league goals for the side in his one-and-a-half seasons with the club.
