Aston Villa reportedly failed with a bid to hand Henri Lansbury a free transfer earlier this month.

Although the midfielder featured in three EFL Cup ties at the start of the season, the 30-year-old was made available for transfer by manager Dean Smith.

With the player being left out of Smith's plans for the Premier League, Villa were allegedly prepared to cut their losses in a bid to reduce their wage bill.

However, The Athletic claims that Lansbury rejected a reduced pay-off from the West Midlands outfit, preferring to wait until January where he may receive more offers from elsewhere.

The report suggests that the Englishman was not prepared to depart Villa Park without being given the full value of his contract.

Lansbury's deal will expire at the end of the current campaign.