Steve Bruce admits Birkir Bjarnason has been unlucky

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Birkir Bjarnason scored for Aston Villa in the Championship at the weekend.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has admitted to the club’s official website that Birkir Bjarnason has been unlucky in terms of playing time recently.

Bruce made the comments following Villa’s 4-1 hammering of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Villa Park in the Championship at the weekend.

Bjarnason scored for the Villans in the 85th minute, but the 29-year-old central midfielder came on as a substitute only on 75 minutes.

The Iceland international, who has been on the books of Villa since January 2017 when he joined from FC Basel for a transfer fee reported by The Birmingham Mail to be worth £2.5 million, has made only seven starts in the Championship so far this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist in the process.

Bruce told Villa’s official website about Bjarnason: “He’s been unlucky with regard to selection of late, Birkir.

“I left him out of the Birmingham game and then it was a change of formation in the matches away from home.”

Important player

Bjarnason may have played a total of 721 minutes of Championship football so far this season, according to WhoScored, but the Iceland international remains an important player for Villa.

Bruce’s aforementioned comments show that he realises that Bjarnason wants and needs playing time, and perhaps the former Basel star will start more games between now and the end of the season for the Villans.