Aston Villa: Analyzing the potential outgoing transfers in January

CM – Henri Lansbury or LM – Birkir Bjarnason (Permanent)?

Both Henri Lansbury and Birkir Bjarnason are desperate for more match time. Neither is an automatic starter under Steve Bruce. For Lansbury, the former Nottingham Forest midfielder falls victim to Conor Hourihane, Josh Onomah, Jack Grealish, and Glenn Whelan in the middle of the park.

While it’s difficult to envision Villa dealing Lansbury twelve months after his transfer, it could make sense if the move directly frees funds for a different acquisition. Lansbury is a really good central midfielder in the Championship, but he would be stretched thin in the Premier League.

For Bjarnason, he too is stuck behind the above four in a three-man central midfield. However, it is Albert Adomah and his ten league goals that have the Iceland international rooted to the bench. Since September 26, Bjarnason has appeared twice for Aston Villa…for a total of five minutes. His versatility, often a blessing, is also Bjarnason’s curse.

With the World Cup six months out, Bjarnason may push a permanent move elsewhere to ensure a starting spot for Iceland in Russia. It remains unlikely Aston Villa let Bjarnason move on-loan, though, with the club in a tough promotion battle. The club needs all hands on deck.

The remaining potential moves include loan switches for Academy players. Callum O’Hare, Easah Suliman, Jake Doyle-Hayes and others are in play.