After being handed a last-16 tie against Stoke City in the Carabao Cup, Aston Villa would surely have fancied their chances of making it into the quarter-finals on Thursday night.

Instead, Dean Smith’s side produced a hugely disappointing display as they crashed out of the competition to the Championship outfit, with the Villa boss’ numerous changes to his starting line-up failing to bring its rewards.

And whilst there were a few players who didn’t perform to their best, one man certainly didn’t cover himself in any glory: Henri Lansbury.

The former England U21 international has been on the fringes of first-team football at Villa Park in recent seasons, with last season seeing him make just 10 Premier League appearances in total – the midfielder is yet to feature in the top-flight in the new campaign either.

And against Stoke on Thursday, the 29-year-old proved why Smith just simply doesn’t trust him to be in his starting line-up week-in and week-out for Villa.

As per Sofascore, his 6.5 match rating was only better than that of Keinan Davis on the night, and when you look at some of his underlying numbers behind his performance, it’s easy to see why.

He lost possession a staggering 25 times over the course of the 90 minutes, which was by far the worst of any player on the pitch for either side. As well as missing one big chance, he also a dismal passing accuracy of 71%, and found the target with less than half of his attempted long balls (10 for 22).

Lansbury also didn’t offer anything defensively either, making no tackles or interceptions whatsoever, and winning just three of his nine total duels.

If the 29-year-old couldn’t produce a decent display in the Carabao Cup against Stoke, then how is Smith meant to trust him in the game against Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday? Or even after that?

He missed a perfect chance to really stake his claim for more football, and it would be a surprise to see him be afforded extra opportunities anytime soon.

And in other news, Aston Villa should think revisiting a move for this Championship star.