According to BBC Radio Nottingham, Derby Country’s bid for Nottingham Forest skipper Henri Lansbury, which was in the region of 2.5 million pounds, has been rejected.
After their unbeaten streak was shockingly shattered by Norwich in a humiliating 3-0 defeat last time, their dire need of a central attacking-minded midfielder has been exposed and Derby will definitely have to come with a better deal for Lansbury.
Jacob Butterfield’s sending off clearly affected Derby’s balance in the midfield as Norwich came with two back to back goals, which completely took away the game from their reach. Butterfield and Hughes are the only two regular offensive midfielders that Steve McClaren has at his disposal. The likes of Craig Bryson, Jamie Hanson, and Bradley Johnson are more of the defensive kind.
The addition of Lansbury could be a valuable addition to the Derby camp, whose boss has challenged his players to go on an unbeaten streak yet again. The former Arsenal midfielder’s contract with Nottingham ends in six months and the 26-year-old already has a huge list of suitors waiting to offer him a deal.
He has scored six goals in 19 appearances this season, including a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Barnsley. Although Lansbury hasn’t featured since picking up a hamstring injury before the 3-0 loss at Derby on 11 December, his quality is unquestionable.
He has created 29 chances so far completing 519 passes with a pass accuracy of 75%, of which 87% were forward passes. He has 46 goals and 31 assists in 249 appearances in English football, which includes a quintessential role in helping West Ham United getting promotion into the league in 2011/12 season
Although Lansbury has been a hot prospect in the transfer market for long, it was his brilliant hat-trick in the 5-2 win over Barnsley in November, in which showed his class, that garnered a lot of interest again. A versatile midfielder, Lansbury can play both as an offensive as well as a defensive-minded player through the middle and could be a deadly option in the attacking third.
Previously, Burnley were in touch with Forest regarding a deal for the player in August 2015, but Lansbury decided to remain with the East Midlands club. Apart from the Clarets, Aston Villa are also known to have submitted a bid for the midfielder. Hence, Derby have to act fast if they are aiming to be playoff contenders this season.
