Harvey Elliott will miss Aston Villa's Europe League trip to FC Basel on Thursday as boss Unai Emery continues to hold talks with the Liverpool loanee.
Elliott has made only seven appearances since his deadline-day move from Anfield, the most recent of them taking place in the same competition as a late substitute against Feyenoord on Oct. 2.
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The 22-year-old midfielder will become a permanent Villa player, in the process activating a £35 million ($47m) transfer fee, if he appears in 10 Premier League fixtures for the club.
With just five Premier League games including just one start under his belt, the former England under-21 star faces an uncertain future.
"We are speaking with him and about his situation. He is not here with us," Emery told reporters ahead of the Basel showdown.
"First, my decision and also the situation. He is on loan playing with us, but he is not definitely adding to us with a permanent contract.
"Hopefully we can get the best for him and the best for us. I respect him as a player and as a person. He is training well, but we have one circumstance with him.
"Hopefully we can get a solution for him to try to play consistently and try to continue in his career with us or not."
