Aston Villa have completed the signing of former Nottingham Forest Captain, Henri Lansbury after he passed his medical on Thursday evening. It has been over two weeks since Aston Villa made their initial bid, believed to be around £3 million, but Lansbury has put pen to paper, and will hopefully make his debut against Preston North End on Saturday.
The goal-scoring midfielder has reportedly signed a £40,000 a week contract, making Villa Park his new home for the next 4 1/2 years.
Since the start of the January transfer window, Steve Bruce has shown his desire to sign the 26-year-old to bolster his weak midfield, however, due to Nottingham Forest’s advanced takeover talks with US investors, the deal was delayed, leaving both Lansbury and Aston Villa frustrated.
However, Fawaz Al-Hasawi, Nottingham Forest’s chairman and current owner, has recently revealed that the takeover talks have “come to an end”. This removed the complications holding up the deal, allowing Bruce to make his second signing of the January transfer window.
Henri Lansbury has had his heart set on signing for the claret and blue outfit ever since Bruce first publicly declared his interest in the Forest man. The East Midlands club have struggled this season and, as it stands, are only 3 points above the relegation zone. Lansbury has been a crucial player in keeping Nottingham Forest’s head above water, but with the club unable to meet the player’s wage demands and with the former Arsenal man’s contract running out in the summer, Fawaz Al-Hasawi has surrendered to letting their star man leave in a cut-price deal.
Two league defeats on the bounce has left Bruce’s side ten points behind sixth place with less than half of the season remaining. However the signing of Lansbury, and recent moves for Conor Hourihane and Jordan Rhodes could well yet save Villa’s season.
