Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has suggested that Harvey Elliott will be provided with opportunities to impress before the end of 2025.
The Premier League side are currently preparing to square off against Young Boys in the Europa League on Thursday night.
While Emery has generally rotated his starting lineup for matches on the continent, Elliott has been left frustrated on the sidelines.
Having arrived on loan from Liverpool on the back of helping England Under-21s retain the European Championship crown, the 22-year-old was expected to become a regular under Emery.
Instead, he has been provided with just two starts and three substitute appearances in all competitions, his last outing coming against Feyenoord on October 2.
Emery addresses short-term Elliott future
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Thursday's game, Emery hinted that the playmaker may earn some minutes against the Swiss side.
He said: "We have a lot of matches, we must focus on this and not think about January. Harvey is one of our players, hopefully he can help us.
"We have a lot of players performing well, but Harvey is training well."
Emery has previously claimed that Elliott must improve his standards in order to feature in his plans going forward.
The situation is complicated with Elliott having already represented Liverpool prior to his loan to Villa, meaning that he cannot represent a different club during the second half of the campaign.
Villa will allegedly possess an obligation to buy for £35m if Elliott plays 10 games, highlighting the predicament facing all parties.
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Is Elliott Liverpool return a possibility?
If Villa have no interest in activating the buy-clause, there is the inevitability of a return to Liverpool either in January or the summer.
Although Arne Slot made the decision that Elliott could be left out of his plans, it may be worth the Dutchman reintegrating Elliott back into the fold when his squad are struggling.
While Liverpool could insist on Elliott remaining at Villa, his market value would decrease if he can only make four more appearances in 2025-26.
His contract at Anfield is due to expire in 2027.