Aston Villa midfielder Birkir Bjarnason has revealed that he expected to be leaving the club in the January window before the remarkable turnaround in his Villa career.

The Icelandic international had been barely used for the first half of the season but,a fine second half performance against Nottingham Forest, in a new central midfield role, convinced many at Villa that Bjarnason was worth keeping.

Steve Bruce rewarded him with a start in the middle of the park against Barnsley on Saturday and the 29-year old delivered another assured showing, playing the full ninety minutes.

And, the Birmingham Mail reveal how Bjarnason told the Icelandic media he didn’t expect this to happen at the start of the month.

“Only two to three weeks ago, I was certain that I would leave the club. I really wanted to leave, but now I have completely changed my mind. I am not going anywhere!”

“Now everything looks great. It has been going really well, both for me and the team, and I am really optimistic.”

Bjarnason had been linked with a move back to Italy with Parma and SPAL among the clubs showing an interest in the former Basel player.

The Verdict

Nobody saw the turnaround in Bjarnason’s Villa career coming, including the player himself as he’s just said.

He deserves huge credit for taking his chance when it came in the league and is clearly relishing the prospect of playing a big part in Villa’s promotion push.

A move clearly isn’t happening now, so it’s all down to Bjarnason to ensure he keeps performing so Bruce can’t leave him out.

Thoughts, Villa fans? Did you think Bjarnason would be off? Is he now a certain starter? Let us know in the comments below.