Ex-Aston Villa man Birkir Bjarnason won’t be joining Derby County.
Aston Villa chose to release midfielder Birkir Bjarnason in August, terminating his contract by mutual consent ahead of the Premier League season.
Before the English window closed, Villa paid up Bjarnason’s deal, meaning he was able to go and sign for another English club for free, rather than having to wait until January.
The Icelandic international joined Villa from Basel in January 2017, with Steve Bruce landing him a few months after he impressed at the 2016 European Championships.
Formerly of Pescara, Sampdoria, Standard Liege and Viking, Bjarnason failed to really make himself a first-team regular at Villa Park, and made just 17 appearances last season.
Releasing him was probably the right decision as he wouldn’t have featured much if at all for Dean Smith’s side, and he has now found himself a new club.
Bjarnason recently told Fotbolti in Iceland that he was in talks with Derby County and Stoke City, but he isn’t actually signing for either Championship side.
Instead, Bjarnason has taken to Instagram to confirm that he’s signed for Al-Arabi in Qatar, meaning he’ll be playing with former Leeds striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga and ex-Stoke defender Marc Muniesa.
The big factor in his move is manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, as he was Iceland’s co-manager during Bjarnason’s best years with his country, and the midfielder admitted he’s excited to start this new chapter of his career.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
