Jonas Olsson happy that he's still a Baggie

Many Albion fans thought they had seen the last of Jonas Olsson.

But most will be delighted that, against the odds, the long-serving centre-back is still at The Hawthorns and back in the team.

With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, Olsson looked a good bet to depart The Hawthorns this summer as Tony Pulis overhauled his squad for his first full season in charge.

At 32 years-old, Olsson's Baggies career looked to have run its course with conventional football logic suggesting the club would take their final opportunity to recoup some cash on the Sweden international before he became a free agent next summer.

However, the transfer trail has gone cold and Olsson – having sat on the bench for the opening game of the season at home to Manchester City – was recalled at Watford on Saturday and reprised his long-standing partnership with Gareth McAuley at the heart of defence to help the Baggies claim a clean sheet and a point from a dour goalless draw.

The man himself probably thought he would be leaving, too.

But the summer did not unfold as anyone expected and now he has his head around the idea of seeing out his current deal and considering his future next year.

"We haven't had any talks and I'm not sure there will be any talks," he said. "I don't know.

"At the moment I am focused on honouring my contract and staying for this year, then we will see.

"If you don't have talks then that's it.

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"I don't have anything to consider so I am all for staying another year.

"I like it here and if the club want to talk about an extension I will listen."

Olsson has become part of the furniture as the third longest-serving player with the club.

He signed for Tony Mowbray in the summer of 2008 from NEC Nijmegen for an initial fee of around £800,000.

That deal, which has since seen the cost of the transfer rise to over £1m with add-ons, has turned out to be a bargain with Olsson playing a crucial role in establishing the Baggies as a Premier League club despite suffering relegation in his first season.

He and McAuley became the rock on which first Roy Hodgson and then subsequent bosses built their teams, before the arrival of Joleon Lescott last season and the debilitating effects of an Achilles tendon injury forced Olsson out of the starting line-up.

It looked set to end his spell as a Baggies player on a sour note but successful surgery during last season finally cured the ankle pain that had dogged him for several seasons and he has returned for the latest campaign looking fresh and mobile.

Now, with Villa interested in a deal, Lescott looks the more likely of the pair to move on with Olsson performing well at Vicarage Road.

And the popular centre-back admits that pain-free pre-season campaign has left him feeling full of beans ahead of an important campaign.

He said: "It (pre-season) was hard work and it was very humid, which is hard but we played some good games against tough sides and we got some good results.

"I feel good. It's nice to have a pre-season and we can finally train well and play well. I played in all the games so I am happy and confident and I feel in good shape."