Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar can still have a future at Aston Villa, according to boss Alex McLeish.
The 29-year-old centre-half looked set for a return to his former club Glasgow Rangers earlier in the summer after Villa accepted a £2million bid for the player they paid the Gers over £7million for just three years earlier.
However, when personal terms could not be agreed and Rangers' lost some vital revenue as a result of their Champions League qualifier exit against Malmo, the deal hit the buffers.
But, McLeish has offered Cuellar hope of featuring at Villa when he returns from his current knee injury, despite the likes of James Collins, Richard Dunne and Ciaran Clark standing in his way.
On Cuellar, who will be out of contract next summer, McLeish said: "As far as we're concerned he's a Villa player. Carlos certainly knows how to defend, he's terrific."