2019-2020 Player Preview: Henri Lansbury

Henri Lansbury is a talented footballer. In his time for Aston Villa, however, injuries have prevented him from getting a useful run of games. He has been — and continues to be — lost in the Villa squad. Dean Smith has never wavered in his praise of the midfielder. Lansbury has never complained about his lack of playing time or any unfair treatment. The whole situation has been handled, in a word, professionally.

So here we are entering the Premier League with Lansbury — who has less than 90 minutes of experience in the top league over three appearances made for Arsenal between 2009-2012 — and fans still don’t know quite what to make of it all.

A quick scan of the Villa depth chart and you can see that Henri is not going to play over Jack, McGinn, or Hourihane. Jota — based on preseason — would likely be above him as an attacking midfield sub as well. We’re not sure about Marvelous Nakamba as of right now. So that puts Lansbury fourth for two spots in the most positive situation. Depth is good — but will it be good enough for Lansbury? It seems to be as the professional midfielder tries to stay healthy and fight for a place. Look for him to lead the midfield in cup matches and be ready if his number is called.