Apparently, his hopes of winning a move to Villarreal have been dashed.
Head coach Manuel Pellegrini wanted him, but having sought the approval of his board, the Chilean has been overruled.
So the 28-year-old could still be here in the summer.
Jose Manuel Llaneza, Villarreal's director of sport: "We're looking for attacking options and Albert Luque has been considered. However, our club has a strict budget that we cannot go over.
"The manager (Pellegrini) has demanded that reinforcements be brought in to help out the attacking line. But we have decided to reject these plans and instead look to our youth team to solve the problem."