Swansea City have been dealt a big blow in their bid to appoint Russell Martin at the Liberty Stadium this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a claim made by Nick Mashiter, with the journalist revealing on Twitter that the MK Dons manager has so far rejected the advances of Jason Levien and Steven Kaplan, who had approached the 35-year-old about taking over from Steve Cooper at the Welsh club.

Mashiter added that, despite Martin's initial rejection, the Swansea hierarchy have not given up on their pursuit of the manager just yet, although it now appears very likely that he will remain at MK Dons next season.

In his tweet, the journalist said: "Swansea still trying to pursue MK Dons boss Russell Martin despite being rejected once. Although they haven't given up, it's looking likely Martin will stay at Dons."

In a second tweet, Mashiter added: "For clarity, Martin has initially turned down the offer from Swansea."

Levien and Kaplan will be fuming

Having already been rejected by John Eustace this month, with the QPR assistant manager opting to stay on in his current role in west London rather than taking the reins at the Liberty Stadium, Levien and Kaplan must surely be fuming that Martin also seems to have turned down the club's advances.

Indeed, Martin would have seemed a fantastic appointment for the Swans, with the 35-year-old's MK Dons side playing a very progressive, attack-minded and possession-based brand of football, something with which both players and fans of the club alike would more than likely be happy.

However, with the MK Dons boss having turned down Swansea's initial approach, a scenario in which he changes his mind on the matter upon a second approach would seem unlikely, so the Swans will probably need to turn their focus elsewhere in their search for a new manager.

With it now being only a week until they kick off their Championship campaign against Blackburn Rovers next Saturday, Levien and Kaplan are desperately running out of time if they wish to have a new manager at the helm for the start of the new season.

In other news: Swansea in crisis as McGrath drops manager claim, but there could be a silver lining