Kevin Phillips has tipped Henri Lansbury to join former club Nottingham Forest in January.
The 30-year-old is set to play no part in Aston Villa’s Premier League season, with Dean Smith deeming him surplus to requirements.
Lansbury is yet to play a minute of football in the top flight so far in 2020/21 and that isn’t expected to change.
The midfielder ended up staying at Villa Park beyond the summer transfer window, but his exit will surely be sealed in January.
Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips believes Lansbury will end up returning to Forest, where he spent five years between 2012 and 2017:
Yeah I think he will move back to the Championship in January. I would imagine that his time at Villa is up. He has had a good little run.
At times he has come in and done well and scored some good goals but you not would not say that it has been a huge success.
With the amount of players that Dean has in his squad now, there was always going to be casualties. It is no surprise that he missed out on the Premier League squad.
It is down to Lansbury but he looks like a player that loves his football.
He may go back to Forest, you never know. He might head back there in January and help Chris Hughton tackle the Championship. It would certainly not surprise me if he signed for Forest in January.
Read Aston Villa Verdict
At 30, Lansbury still has plenty to offer as a footballer, so he is potentially wasting his career by playing such a bit-part role for Villa.
There is simply no way of envisaging him earning regular playing time for Smith’s side, with so many midfield options ahead of him.
The likes of Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Ross Barkley are undisputed regulars, while individuals such as Conor Hourihane and Marvelous Nakamba are also making matchday squads ahead of him.
A return to the Championship makes perfect sense, having been a strong player in the division not only for Forest, but for Watford and Norwich City, too.
