“I’m just glad to be here at last,” he told the official Villa website.
“I’m really looking forward to it. This is a big move for me. I had five very good seasons at Sunderland and that’s why I’m here today.
“I was looking for a new challenge and I always thought – even in my days back in Denmark – that Aston Villa was a good club. Now I’m very happy to be joining.
“It was very important for me to remain in the Premiership. I feel I belong at the highest level. Obviously it was sad what happened at Sunderland, but I’m looking to improve all the time and I needed to be playing on a bigger stage. So I’m just happy that this has come along.”