Aston Villa haven’t been shy recently in spending large fees to bring in quality players that will improve their squad.

And, while the signings of the £26m Diego Carlos and the £17m Philippe Coutinho may not seem like earth-shattering fees, for the Midlands side, they represent significant deals.

Furthermore, the club hasn’t been averse to moving on squad players or those who haven’t contributed as effectively as first envisaged, with Villa having narrow escapes on certain signings, one example being Henri Lansbury.

The central midfielder was signed from Nottingham Forest for a fee of £2.75m in 2017, as Steve Bruce looked to bolster his side during their first season in the second tier since the Premier League era began.

His time at Villa proved to be unsuccessful, featuring for the club just 53 times and scoring only twice, while making only ten appearances in the top flight following the club’s promotion in 2019.

His performances were blasted as “anonymous” and it's clear that he didn’t exactly live up to the hype when Bruce signed him. Lansbury helped Villa escape the Championship but his talent was never going to be enough to become a regular Premier League midfielder.

He finally left for Bristol City on a free transfer in 2021 after Villa convinced the 31-year-old to terminate his contract early - with his career having slipped into a decline ever since.

A poor spell at City did his chances of signing for another big club no favours and he was soon on the move to another Championship side, this time Luton Town.

With a rating of 6.53 on WhoScored for his performances last season, the 31-year-old is struggling to even make an impression in the second tier. Lansbury didn’t manage to score or register any assists during his time on the pitch and his 66.6% pass success rate ranked him 14th out of the Hatters' squad.

Although he left Villa on a free transfer and they effectively wasted £2.75m on him, it could have been a lot worse should he have stayed on for the remainder of his contract - proving they played a blinder in cutting their losses at the right time.

He wouldn’t have gotten a game under Gerrard considering his poor performances at Championship level, and the club did well to move him on when they did.