The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has shared his opinion on Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury, prompting loads of reactions from the fan base.
Evans noted “come September, a decade will have passed since a fresh-faced English teenager with a skinhead haircut burst into the box to put Arsenal ahead against their bitter north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.”
“Three weeks later, Henri Lansbury, the first goalscorer in that 4-1 Arsenal win at White Hart Lane will turn 30 and no doubt take a moment to reflect on what could have been.”
“Why is it that he’s only featured in 40 league games during more than three years at Aston Villa?”
Since arriving at Villa Park from Nottingham Forest in January 2017 for a reported fee of £3.06m, Lansbury has played in 49 games for the Lions, scoring a mere 2 goals and providing 8 assists in all competitions.
Shockingly, the 29-year-old has made just 9 appearances in the Premier League for Dean Smith’s side all season, taking 0.2 shots per game, averaging 0.2 key passes, and completing only 0.7 tackles on average in the top flight (WhoScored).
Considering his stats so far, it is fair to say the former Arsenal prodigy has largely struggled to live up to expectations. His current market value is rated at £1.08m and it remains to be seen if the board will cut their losses and let him leave in the summer.
Predictably, plenty of Villans weighed in on the subject, with one supporter branding Lansbury a “Championship player” and another stating he is “massively overpaid.”
Have a read through some of the angriest reactions down below…
He’s massively overpaid – that’s the problem & he’s treated his villa contract as an easy ride. Fair enough opportunities haven’t come his way – if he was killing it in training & u23 matches then the manager would’ve stuck him in – instead of splurging money on Danny Drinkevian
— Matt Richardson (@MattBrummy) April 14, 2020
Not good enough for PL good championship player at best #avfc
— Mark Mahon (@villan_ginger) April 14, 2020
No doubt he has ability but when given an opportunity sadly lacking he should play as a number 10 but that’s not going to happen so it’s time to leave AVFC
— Vernon Morrissey (@villa_vernon) April 14, 2020
Get rid of him off the wage bill… Not needed UTV 💜💙
— Scott Crosby (@Crosby0891) April 14, 2020
Only good enough for the treatment table unfortunately
— Simon McMurray (@BigMcVillan) April 14, 2020
Outside of a quality debut he has done nothing in his over 3 years (!!) whilst being paid £40k a week. Couldn’t get into our poor Championship sides and has never seized an opportunity when he’s had one. No idea why he’s been cut so much slack.
— Yalie (@yaliekins) April 14, 2020
And the ops he hasn’t missed, of course
— Nick Price-Thompson (@NickPJThompson) April 14, 2020
Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Villa discussion going on in the Vital Villa Forum! Click here to get involved!
