Aston Villa will finally complete the signing of midfielder Henri Lansbury from Sky Bet Championship rivals Nottingham Forest on Friday according to the Nottingham Post.
Villa’s chase of the 26-year-old midfield ace is one of the January transfer window’s longest running sagas however a deal will be concluded by Friday evening according to reports.
Lansbury has been expected to move to Villa Park for the last fortnight with Villa seeing a transfer offer in the region of £3 million accepted by Forest however a deal has dragged on due to takeover turmoil at The City Ground.
The American led consortium looking to buy Nottingham Forest have now abandoned their plans for the Midlands club leaving Forest under the ownership on Kuwaiti businessman Fawaz Al Hasawi. It is now thought that Al Hasawi has given the green light for Aston Villa to complete the signing of Lansbury and the midfielder could make his Villa debut against Preston North End on Saturday.
Lansbury joined Forest in August 2012 from Premier League club Arsenal in a deal believed to be worth £1 million. The midfielder has gone on to make 150 appearances for The Reds scoring 33 goals. The player’s contract at The City Ground is set to expire in the summer and Forest are willing to cash in on Lansbury this month rather than lose him on a free transfer in less than six months time.
