Lansbury has struggled since joining Villa from Nottingham Forest in January 2017.
There will be no-one more frustrated than Henri Lansbury in the Aston Villa dressing room at the moment, as injury after injury prevents him from game time. His recent Instagram post, though, is proof that he has to leave.
The 28-year-old has managed just 33 appearances for Villa since joining the club from Nottingham Forest in January 2017, leaving the captain’s armband behind at Forest to help Villa regain a place in the Premier League.
But is simply has not worked out for the ex-Arsenal star. Lansbury has played only three times for Villa this season, injuring his hamstring as a sub against Birmingham, and then doing the same in the FA Cup loss to Swansea in January.
Another spell on the sidelines for Lansbury, then. His most recent Instagram post is just more evidence that Dean Smith has got to forget sympathising with the midfielder, and rid his name from the wage bill.
The Daily Mirror claim Villa spent £2.7million to sign Lansbury from Forest, where he shone. Having a hand in one goal every three games – with 33 strikes and 20 assists in 150 outings – Lansbury gained iconic status.
But earning a whopping £40,000 a week (Mirror) at Villa is simply throwing money down the drain. If the Midlands club are to finally balance the books and remove themselves from the clutches of Financial Fairplay, Lansbury has to be sold.
Though it is not his fault, his proneness to hamstring injuries mean he is simply not worth the wages – far from it. Villa must consider a summer exit, even if it means offloading him for peanuts just to avoid having to pay his wage bill until his contract expires – the summer of 2021.
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