West Bromwich Albion have sent former Captain Jonathan Greening a stark reality check; that return to the Hawthorns is not an option. Greening made the move to Premiership Fulham on an initial 12 month loan spell at the end of the 2008/09 season, which ended in top flight relegation for the Midlanders.

The initial 12 month deal which took Greening to Craven Cottage is due to expire, and comments made by the player this week seemed to indicate that a return to the Hawthorns was likely should negotiations over a new contract between himself and Fulham gaffer Roy Hodgson break down.

West Bromwich Albion however have been quick to nip any such speculation in the bud, stating that Greening's loan move agreement was only drawn up on a loan to permanent transfer basis, meaning that Fulham had indeed agreed to the full purchase of Greening after the 12 month loan spell expired.

For Greening in simple terms this means that there is no return option in the contract - counting a return to the Hawthorns well and truly out of the picture.

This kind of deal is not uncommon, and in fact Albion have taken advantage of it on several occassions, such as in the instance of Paul Robinson at Bolton Wanderers and Tomasz Kuszczak at Manchester United.