Joey Karl Gudjonsson Bio Send To Friend  

A much travelled player who has played in Belgium, Spain, Holland and England, Gudjonsson began his career with local team ÍA Akranes before being moving to the Belgain side Racing Genk.

The midfielder, who also had a spell on loan with MVV Maastricht, moved to Holland permanently in 2000 when snapped up by RKC Waalwijk.

It was La Liga next for the Iceland international, moving to Real Betis in 2001.

Joey (real name Johannes) first came to the attention of English fans when he joined Aston Villa in late-January 2003. Gudjonsson claimed to have a good understanding of the English game due to his addiction to computer game Championship Manager - and straight away praised Villa captain Gareth Barry.

Gudjonsson marked his debut with a goal in a 5-2 victory at Middlesbrough, but he never really managed to impress at Villa Park. A red card picked up in the derby defeat at home to Birmingham, for a two-footed lunge, didn't help matters.

It became clear that Villa would not pursue a permanent deal, but he did bow out with Villa's consolation goal against Leeds on the final day of the season.

But Gudjonsson did earn a Premiership return in August 2003, when Wolverhampton Wanderers took him on loan for the season. He would make just 11 appearances.

Spells at Leicester City and another Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar, were to follow before he signed for Burnley in a £150,000 deal in January 2007.

As much a bench player as a starter for the Clartets, he has only ever managed to be a squad player for the teams he has played for which is unlikely to be any different in the Premier League.