---
title: "Henri Lansbury may be worried after Dean Smith transfer comments [Opinion]"
canonical: "https://readastonvilla.com/2021/01/19/henri-lansbury-villa-future-dean-smith-transfer-comments/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Crippy Cooke"
section: "Aston Villa News"
published: "2021-01-19T21:00:00Z"
modified: "2021-01-19T21:00:00Z"
---

# Henri Lansbury may be worried after Dean Smith transfer comments \[Opinion\]

Dean Smith [previously played down talk](https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/aston-villa/2020/12/23/dean-smith-expecting-quiet-january-transfer-window-for-aston-villa/) of Aston Villa letting players leave in the winter transfer window, but he has since made a U-turn as Conor Hourihane has been [loaned out](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11731/12192407/transfer-news-conor-hourihane-joins-swansea-on-loan-from-aston-villa-for-rest-of-the-season) to Swansea City.

In quotes reported by [Birmingham Live](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/aston-villa-transfer-morgan-sanson-19654026), Smith said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit to Manchester City: “There’s the possibility of some outs as well.”

If there are more departures from Villa Park before the start of February, [Henri Lansbury](https://readastonvilla.com/2020/12/04/villa-want-to-sell-henri-lansbury-high-wages-problem/) may be worried.

The 30-year-old [joined](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/henri-lansbury/transfers/spieler/44794) the Claret and Blues on a four-year deal from Nottingham Forest in January 2017 and has gone on to make [53 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/henri-lansbury/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/44794) in all competitions, but he fell down the pecking order in his [second season](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/henri-lansbury/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/44794) at Villa Park and hasn’t managed to nail down a regular starting place ever since.

Lansbury made [30 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/henri-lansbury/leistungsdaten/spieler/44794/plus/0?saison=2016) across his first season-and-a-half at the club, but played just [five times in 2018/19](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/henri-lansbury/leistungsdaten/spieler/44794/plus/0?saison=2018) and [15 games last term](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/henri-lansbury/leistungsdaten/spieler/44794/plus/0?saison=2019). Indeed, Smith [left him out of the Premier League squad](https://www.premierleague.com/news/1869523) in October and [tried to terminate his deal](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/aston-villa-january-transfer-window-19345470), so the midfielder has been surplus to requirements for some time.

### READ ASTON VILLA VERDICT

It remains to be seen which club is willing to match Lansbury’s [£2m-a-year contract](https://readastonvilla.com/2021/01/04/the-2m-reason-why-henri-lansbury-is-unlikely-to-leave-this-month/), but Villa appear to be stepping up their efforts to offload players, judging by Smith’s comments.

The 30-year-old recently [£2m-a-year contract](https://readastonvilla.com/2021/01/04/the-2m-reason-why-henri-lansbury-is-unlikely-to-leave-this-month/) so he may be boosting his match fitness to attract a suitor, now that he knows his manager is open to trimming his squad this month.