It has all gone wrong for Henri Lansbury – but the boss isn’t ready to give up on the midfielder
WHEN Henri Lansbury signed for Aston Villa from Nottingham Forest for £2.75 million in January 2017, it was meant to be the next stage of the former Arsenal youngster’s career.
Fast-forward to 2018, and it has all gone wrong again. Lansbury failed to command a place in the Villa starting line-up under Steve Bruce and with the prospect of a clean slate under Dean Smith, there was the chance of a fresh start.
It wasn’t to be again, though, when Lansbury’s latest comeback was aborted when the substitute hobbled off with hamstring trouble after an eight-minute cameo against Blues.
Smith, it seems, hasn’t given up on Lansbury and spoke after the game about his injury.
He stated: “He got fouled and felt his hamstring, so he had to go off. We’ll have to assess how he is.
“He’s been doing really well and has played in a few behind-closeddoors games for us. He’s been pushing to get on and did well when he did.”
We take a look at the next stage in his Villa career as Mat Kendrick and Gregg Evans answer the key questions... he looked like the really good kid in your school football team.
Not only was he strutting round and pinging passes, but he gave the impression he could even get on the end of his own free-kicks. Alas, it was not to last.
Steve Bruce signed three central midfielders that window (Lansbury, Conor Hourihane and Birkir Bjarnason) without really knowing how he intended to use them. Since then the former Nottingham Forest man has been restricted to average cameos with the very occasional moment of promise.
Unfortunately there’s no way to dress this up nicely. It simply hasn’t worked out for Lansbury at Villa.
With just 29 appearances in almost two years – and only two league starts in 2018 – things haven’t quite gone to plan.
He’s had plenty of competition in his place and both Steve Bruce and Dean Smith have favoured other tried and tested performers ahead of him.
He’ll be disappointed but all is not lost. He can still play a part in this season.
There’s several factors. Injuries haven’t helped. Limping off with hamstring trouble nine minutes after coming on in the Second City derby was a snapshot of the issues that have blighted his Villa career.
A queue of central midfielders ahead of him – consisting at various times of Hourihane, Bjarnason, Mile Jedinak, Glenn Whelan and now John McGinn – has blocked his firstteam path. And, let’s face it, with the exception of rare flashes – like the goal at Leeds the season before last – he has failed to make the most of his limited minutes.
When he’s had his chance, he hasn’t taken it. And let’s not forget, it was difficult to change the team too much last season because they were winning more often than not.
Conor Hourihane has always been a source of goals so it’s difficult to drop him – and other midfielders have offered more in terms of defensive qualities.
While Bruce would never badmouth him, it appeared he lost faith in him. Smith has since spoken highly of his efforts and enthusiasm, and also said he had impressed in behind-closed-doors games recently.
He is contracted until the summer of 2021, so there’s still plenty of time for him to find some form! In all seriousness, in Dean Smith he has a manager who will try to give him the platform to impress.
Right now, though, I can’t see Lansbury ousting any of those ahead of him in the pecking order and he needs to leave, if only for a temporary change of scenery, on loan.
If Villa decide he is surplus to requirements, then moving him on permanently could be easier said than done – the legacy of big-money, long contracts being handed out willy nilly by Aston Villa Football Club.
It will depend entirely upon how much the 28-year-old wants to play and whether he is willing to take a pay cut to try his luck elsewhere.
Under Smith, Lansbury could thrive. He’s been making progress since the new manager’s arrival and was used in the win over Blues before breaking down with his injury.
Shake that off and he could play a part. That said, if a decent loan move becomes available in January, it would be good to see him playing and performing back to his best again. There’s a talented player there – a leader who can score and assist goals, like he did at Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately, Villa haven’t seen it yet.