Aston Villa are now in their third season back in the Premier League since winning promotion from the Championship.

During their time back in the top-flight, there has been a considerable overhaul of their squad from the one that helped them get out of the second-tier, with many of their promotion winners moving on to pastures new.

One of the first players to make such a move, was Birkir Bjarnason. The midfielder joined Villa from Swiss giants Basel in January 2017, and would go on to make 54 appearances in all competitions for the Midlands club, scoring six goals in that time.

But despite still having a year left on his deal at Villa Park, Bjarnason's time with the club would come to an end in following that promotion to the Premier League in the summer of 2019.

That came on the the final day of the transfer window that his contract with the club had been terminated by mutual agreement.

Since then, Bjarnason has found himself on the move on several occasions. Initially, the midfielder made the move to Qatar, joining Al Arabi, although his time in the gulf nation would be brief.

Bjarnason made just five appearances for Al Arabi - scoring once - before returning to Europe in January 2020, joining Italian side Brescia.

Having been unable to help Brescia avoid relegation from Serie A during his first half-a-season with the club, Bjarnason remained with the club for the 2020/21 campaign, as they failed to win promotion after suffering defeat in the second-tier play-offs.

That prompted Bjarnason to move on again, leaving Brescia at the end of last season following the expiry of his contract with the club, for who he made a total of 40 appearances, scoring six times.

 

 

Instead, the midfielder now finds himself in Turkey, having joined newly promoted top-flight side Adana Demirspor on a two-year deal, a move that sees him link up with the likes of Mario Balotelli and Britt Assombalonga at his new club.

Bjarnason now looks to have settled in well at his club, making six appearances and scoring once already, helping Adana to tenth place in the current top-flight standings.

The midfielder has also remained a regular feature for Iceland at international level, and won his 100th cap at senior level for his country earlier this year.

At 33-years-old, Bjarnason will no doubt be hoping to add to that tally a few more times as he approaches the latter stages of his career, and his seemingly promising start to life in Turkey, could help him to do that.