Bjarnason: I want another year to remember

BIRKIR Bjarnason is on a mission to make this calendar year even more memorable than 2016.

The Icelandic midfielder became Aston Villa’s fourth signing of the window on Wednesday, after James Bree arrived earlier in the day, to follow the January signings of Sam Johnstone and Henri Lansbury.

Bjarnason has signed a three-anda-half-year deal after Villa agreed an undisclosed fee with Swiss giants FC Basel.

The 28-year-old was part of the Iceland team that knocked England out of the European Championships last summer. He also won his first league title at FC Basel and featured in the Champions League.

“Last year was quite a good year because there were moments that will stay with me forever,” he said. “Moving to England is also really big.

“In Iceland and in Norway, where I grew up, English football is number one. It’s really big.

“Like everyone else, I wanted to play in England growing up, especially the Premier League.”

So what are the central midfielder’s aims for the times ahead?

“I have great ambition, I want to go up,’’ he said. “If that happens this year, I don’t know. We will do our best but I really want to go up.”

One thing the fans want to know is whether Bjarnason will start the ‘Viking clap’? “To be honest, I haven’t even thought about it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nigel Spink says it is nice to see Steve Bruce still has ‘fire in his belly’ after the manager’s treatment of Villa striker Ross McCormack.

Bruce ripped into the £12million forward after Villa’s 2-2 draw with Preston on Saturday and revealed how the Scot had been skipping training sessions.

Bruce said McCormack wasn’t fit enough to play and it seems he will be looking to ship him out of the club.

Former goalkeeper Spink, in goal when Villa won the European Cup in 1982, said: “It’s good to see that Steve Bruce still has fire in his belly and that the old grizzly bear is still raging in there somewhere.

“That is great for Villa supporters because this is an absolute joke, that a player on that sort of money can treat the club and the supporters like he has.

“It’s not a single occasion and it is an absolute disgrace. It’s very hard for a player out of shape to get fit in the season.”