Lansbury has uncertain future at Villa, could leave in January

Henri Lansbury was once again an unused substitute in Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon, watching on as Conor Hourihane, Marvelous Nakamba, John McGinn and Douglas Luiz all got minutes ahead of him.

The 29-year-old has made just three appearances in all competitions this season, spending more time on the bench (five) than on the pitch. Lansbury has been at Villa for more than two-and-a-half years, but he’s racked up less minutes in 2017/18, 2018/19 & 2019/20 combined (992) than he did in his debut campaign (2016/17) – 1458.

Injuries have hampered Lansbury’s playing time and led to midfielders climbing ahead of him in the pecking order. Under Dean Smith…