Birkir Bjarnason was released by Aston Villa in the summer after spending two years at the club.
Aston Villa parted ways with a number of senior players over the summer, but for some, they perhaps left it late to share their most surprising news when Birkir Bjarnason left the club by mutual consent on deadline day.
On August 8th, as the Villa supporters were hopeful that the club might secure their 13th signing of the summer, they instead announced on their official Twitter feed that Bjarnason had been released after two years of services.
The 31-year-old has been without a club since his Villa departure, but on Saturday, he sent out a timely reminder of what he is capable of.
Given his experience and what he has done on the international stage, Bjarnason still started for Iceland during their 3-0 win over Moldova in the Euro qualifiers, with the former Villa midfielder netting the second goal of the game.
He ended up playing 78 minutes for his country, as Iceland picked up a much-needed three points in their bid to secure their passage to the 2020 European championships.
Iceland are in a very tough group as they currently sit in third place on 12 points from their five matches – level with Turkey and World Cup champions France, who are ahead of them on goal difference.
Anyhow, with Bjarnason yet to find a new club [transfermarkt], he will be hoping his recent international outing is a reminder of what he can produce on his day.
During his time at Villa, Bjarnason, for most parts, struggled for regular game time, as he was played out wide by Steve Bruce at first before he found his place in the side when he was deployed in the middle of the park.
Bjarnason started Dean Smith’s first game in charge of the club when Villa beat Swansea City 1-0 last October, but not long after, his game time reduced.
Given the number of players Villa signed over the course of the summer, including two midfield players and those players that were already ahead of him, it was always going to be difficult for Bjarnason to prove his worth in a Villa shirt.
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