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This article is part of Football FanCast's The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Aston Villa's main area of recruitment this summer have seemingly been in defence with no fewer than four new bodies arriving in that position of the pitch.

However, from a midfield perspective, there is no one as of yet to walk through the doors.

Villa have been pursuing Kalvin Phillips this summer whilst a deal reportedly looks close for Manchester City's Douglas Luiz.

If a deal isn't completed for Phillips, though, it appears they could go after Ryan Woods as an alternative.

The Stoke man played under Dean Smith at Brentford, but the Villans could be better off handing a chance to someone already at the club, rather than signing the £4.5m-rated midfielder.

On the chalkboard

Aston Villa's midfield is currently extremely settled and with Conor Hourihane signing a new contract, that just goes to show how much they value him alongside the more star performers in Jack Grealish and John McGinn.

Yet, waiting in the shadows has been the idle figure of Henri Lansbury.

The former Arsenal man has endured an injury nightmare since making the switch from Nottingham Forest, making just seven starts in the last two seasons after joining for £2.75m three years ago.

It's fair to say that his time in the Midlands has been hugely frustrating but now could be his shot at redemption after a couple of campaigns in the wilderness.

The fact is, that when Lansbury has had a sustained run in the team, his stats are actually better than Woods in some key areas, something that suggests the latter wouldn't offer anything they don't already have.

During his first season at Villa, a campaign in which he featured 18 times according to WhoScored, he made 1.9 tackles per game, 1.2 interceptions whilst managing a solitary shot per match too.

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The midfielder was an influence at both ends of the pitch but in comparison, Woods would fail to offer much in any third. For the Potters, he made 1.2 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and had just 0.1 shots at goal.

Of course, the Stoke man is a more defensive-minded player, but Lansbury has already shown himself capable in terms of breaking up the play.

With that in mind, Smith may as well save money and place faith in a player who finally returned to fitness at the back end of 2018/19.