Aston Villa sign Henri Lansbury as Steve Bruce starts his midfield revamp with £3million capture from Nottingham Forest
Claret and Blues make second signing in January transfer window by bringing in Arsenal academy product
STEVE BRUCE has begun his midfield overhaul at Aston Villa by clinching the £3million signing of Henri Lansbury from Nottingham Forest.
The Arsenal academy product has joined Villa on a four-and-a-half-year deal, with Barnsley’s Conor Hourihane expected to join in the coming days.
Lansbury passed a medical yesterday and trained with his new Villa team-mates this morning at the club’s training ground at Bodymoor Heath.
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Lansbury said: “I am delighted to be here at Aston Villa.
“As soon as I knew Aston Villa were interested, I wanted to come here.
“It’s the size and reputation of the football club that attracted me.
“It’s a big, big name in the English game and I can’t wait to get started here now.
“Villa are getting a passionate player. I’m someone who wants to score goals, get in the box, to tackle and do everything really.
“Even if I lose in training, someone’s getting kicked, pushed or something’s getting thrown. It’s the mentality I have. If you’re willing to lose, what’s the point in playing.”
After becoming Villa’s second January signing following the arrival of goalkeeper Sam Johnstone from Manchester United, he could now come into contention to face Preston tomorrow.
Bruce is now targeting further reinforcements after watching four games in a row totally bypass his midfield.
While Mile Jedinak appears capable of anchoring midfield if surrounded by the right players, the likes of Leandro Bacuna simply don’t possess the quality to propel Villa towards the play-off places – from which they sit ten points back.
The West Midlands club are now in desperate need of wins after a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Leeds was followed by 1-0 away defeats at Cardiff and Wolves.
With nine-goal Jonathan Kodjia on AFCON duty with Ivory Coast, the Claret and Blues have drawn a blank in their last three games – including an FA Cup defeat at Tottenham.
Having agreed cut-price deals for Lansbury and Hourihane – who were both out of contract in the summer – Bruce will now move to strengthen his forward line.
Having sold Rudy Gestede to Boro for £6m, Bruce offered that money back plus add-ons for Jordan Rhodes.
And having seen his bid rebuffed, Bruce make an improved offer for a player who has been pushed closer to the Riverside exit by the £10m arrival of Patrick Bamford.