Portsmouth have admitted that striker Jermain Defoe is only on loan at the Fratton Park club.
It was thought that Defoe, who scored on his debut, had signed a permanent deal from Tottenham on transfer deadline day but that is not the case.
However, Portsmouth still hope to push through the deal with the Premier League this week.
“Defoe’s transfer was done as an initial loan because of time restraints,” said a Pompey spokesman.
“The full documents will be signed and registered this week and this is a standard method when you have little time.”
The revelation that he is, initially, only on loan is yet another twist in the saga that leaves Benjani Mwaruwari still in limbo after his move to Manchester City ran out of time on Thursday night.
Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said: “I honestly could not tell you the exact details but, at five minutes to midnight on Thursday, the two deals were dependent on each other with us getting 9m for Benjani and spending it on Defoe.
“I feel for Benjani because at the moment he seems to be the big loser in all this, but hopefully it will all be sorted out on Monday and I think he will end up as a Manchester City player.
“If not, from a greedy football manager’s point of view, I’d be delighted to get Benjani back.
“I didn’t want to lose him in the first place but, of course, I had to because it is good business to sell a 29-year-old and get in a lad of 25 who is always going to get you goals.”
Pompey are confident both transfers will go through this week when the Premier League complete their investigation over why forms from City to register Benjani did not arrive in time to beat the January transfer deadline.
Defoe grabbed Pompey’s equaliser to earn a point on his debut against Chelsea on Saturday.
Source: Defoe transfer not yet permanent