As reported yesterday, the arrival of Birkir Bjarnason has today been confirmed following a successful medical.
The Icelandic international, part of the team which enjoyed great success at Euro 2016, joins on a 3 & a half year deal.
Bjarnason featured during every game at the tournament, including the infamous victory that sent England packing.
He moves from FC Basle for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2.5/£3 million pounds [1] – although it has been reported to be as low as £1.75 million initially.
Remarkable value if accurate.
KEY FACTS
- Iceland: 56 Caps, 8 goals.
- Reached quarter finals of Euro 2016.
- Scored Iceland’s 1st goal at a major tournament.
- Nicknamed “Thor”.
- Contracted until June 2020.
- Played for Sampdoria in Serie A.
- Basle 2017 Stats: 20 Games, 4 goals, 2 assists.
- Basle 2017 League Stats: 13 games, 4 goals, 2 assists.
- Swiss Super-league Champion in 2016.
- Featured in this years Champions League.
- Aged 28.
- Position: Midfielder.
IN QUOTES:
Very happy and pleased to have signed for Aston Villa ✍🏼 @AVFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/czcyANyfOZ
— Birkir Bjarnason (@bbjarnason8) January 25, 2017
Speaking to the official site, he said:
I’m delighted to have signed for Aston Villa.
It’s a very big club. I am now looking forward to getting out on to the pitch and helping the team.
[But then he would say that, wouldn’t he!]
I like to go forward, but I defend really well as well. I love to score goals, so I’m quite an all-rounder midfielder.
The truth is that Villa desperately need a dynamic midfielder to shore up the poorest part of the squad.
In addition to Henri Lansbury, it marks another welcome departure from the era of Ashley Westwood & Leandro Bacuna.
With the addition of Conor Hourihane from Barnsley expected imminently, it will see these perennial failures inched closer to the exit door.
Bjarnason = THOR
Bjarnason arrives with a decidedly impressive nickname; “Thor”.
There are worse nicknames to have…
Thor, a mythical Norse hammer wielding God, does set the mantle high for the new arrival. However, we could certainly use Thor’s exploits, including his “relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles”.
For a team (and midfield) which has been meek for years now, this can hopefully be a good thing.
SOCIAL
Birkir Bjarnason can be found on Twitter & Instagram.
Don’t know much about him but let’s be honest wouldn’t have to be great to be better than what we have now, but good luck to him might turn out to be a gem.
Now that a competitor has come in for McCormack, ship him out and make a better offer for Rhodes I still think that is on, could be a great partnership Kodjia and Rhodes.